Let’s be clear. Surrogacy is immoral because it prioritizes adults’ desire to have children over the rights and needs of the child by deliberately separating the baby from the woman who carried it. While I endorse this view, the idea is not mine; it belongs to Katy Faust, an activist for the rights of the unborn and minors.

Meanwhile, the surrogacy industry is growing. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, while there were just over 1,500 clinical surrogacy cases in 2004, that figure exceeded 11,500 by 2023.

But this expansion is evident not only in the United States.

Ruling T-968 of 2009, issued by the Colombian Constitutional Court, authorized surrogacy procedures throughout the country — a stance the court has reaffirmed in subsequent rulings. According to the website Surrogacy Latam, these medical procedures are “100% safe and legal” in Colombia — so much so that “every single procedure is verified by the nation’s judges.”

The same site states that, in addition to psychological, medical, and legal evaluations, surrogate mothers must meet specific criteria regarding age limits, prior pregnancy and childbirth history, lifestyle assessments, and general health and well-being standards. In other words: the “factory” must be in optimal condition.

The language surrounding the process is entirely cold and mechanical. Consider this example, also from Surrogacy Latam: “The surrogate must undergo the assisted fertility treatment or procedure for surrogacy until a pregnancy is achieved.” It treats the woman like a piece of meat, strips her of the dignity of motherhood, and describes her as a machine.

Although the woman is expected to undergo the process altruistically — without compensation or payment — the reality of a relationship defined by subordination and the commodification of the female body becomes apparent when, once pregnancy is achieved, “the surrogate cannot back out of handing over the child,” according to Surrogacy Latam. It speaks as if dealing with a “deliverable”; the baby is no longer a baby, but merely another product on a long list of consumer goods.

The website promotes it in precisely these stark, financial, and bureaucratic terms: “Surrogacy in Colombia offers various advantages, most notably its potential for greater economic accessibility — with a final cost nearly half that of the United States or Europe — as well as less rigorous requirements compared to other locations.”

The paragraph is so blatantly commercial that if one were to swap the term “surrogacy” for “house” or “dental services,” it would work just as well.

If anyone doubts what the Gospel of Matthew says about the end times, this offers a compelling reason to believe it. In these years, as wickedness has multiplied, the love of many has grown cold.

Not even the mountain of words Surrogacy Latam’s marketing team has heaped upon the process and the surrogate — “generous heart and courage,” “extraordinary journey,” “act of altruism and compassion,” “life-changing,” “shapes the very essence of the family,” “architect of happiness” — can mask the moral issue of turning a human life into a commodity.

During the 2026 Pray Vote Stand Summit, I heard firsthand Faust’s views on how surrogacy fragments motherhood — splitting it among the genetic, gestational, and social mothers — and turns the child into the object of a contract, as if the child were a product that could be ordered and transferred.

For these and other reasons, a growing movement has emerged in Colombia to shed light on this practice, as noted in a conversation with the author of this article by David Cote, a Representative for Bogotá (2026?"2030) from the Democratic Center party.

What is the objective, at least initially? “To establish stricter restrictions or prohibitions in cases involving the exploitation or commercialization of human beings,” the politician remarked.

Cote emphasized the challenge of addressing the phenomenon of commercial surrogacy. “I believe Colombia has become a destination for these types of practices, and it is necessary to open a serious national debate regarding their ethical, legal, and social implications.”

The first steps are always the hardest. Courage must guide men and women of good will as they defend the rights of Colombian children.