ABORTION is the ending of a pregnancy that causes the child to die. There are two types of abortions, medical and surgical. The method used depends on how far along the pregnancy has gone. In addition, different clinics have different procedures. Medical abortion is the most common used method for early abortions (before week 9). It is a strong hormone dose in the form of a pill that interrupts the pregnancy. The actual abortion then occurs either at home or at a hospital. Medical abortion can be used throughout the whole period of allowed abortion, but during pregnancy week 9 and 12, some clinics use surgical abortion instead. Surgical abortion is a procedure where fetus and placenta is taken out of the uterus with a suction method.
LATE ABORTION (after 12 or 13 weeks of pregnancy) is always done with the medical method, but then the abortion is more protracted. For the most part it takes up to 24 hours. When the fetus has been taken out the doctor may sometimes have to end the procedure by using a curette to scrape out remains of the placenta and reduce the risks of bleeding.
THE SWEDISH ABORTION act allows free abortion up to week 18. This means that the woman is entitled to an abortion without having to state any reasons for it. After the 18th week of pregnancy the woman needs a permission from the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) to have an abortion, which requires special reasons. Special reasons are for instance addiction problems, mental health problems, maternal injuries or the age of the mother. The National Board of Health and Welfare may not grant permission if the fetus is likely to be viable, which generally means that abortions after the 22nd week are not allowed. Abortions after the 22nd week may be allowed if the the child has a life-threatening injury or if the health of the woman is threatened by the pregnancy.
Every year there are between 35,000 and 38,000 abortions performed in Sweden. In 2016, approximately 38,000 abortions were performed. This corresponds to 20.8 abortions per 1,000 women in the ages 15-44.
The Abortion Act (1974:595)
Abortion Law
Sources:
www.1177.se/Stockholm/Fakta-och-rad/Behandlingar/Abort/
www.socialstyrelsen.se/statistik/statistikefteramne/aborter
www.menneskeverd.no/tema/abort/
http://respektlivet.nu/fragor-svar/abort/vad-ar-abort
What do we mean?
THE ISSUE OF ABORTION is controversial and taboo in many contexts. In the debate, attention is often focused on the woman’s right to her body, without regard to the child. We believe that a child is a child no matter how big or small it is. An unborn child is from the beginning, also as a fetus, a human being in development. We all have the same inherent value, born or unborn. Our age and size do not affect our value.
IN MANY COUNTRIES’ abortion legislation, there is no difference between fetuses and children, but the child is called ”unborn” – that is, unborn – to birth. Already at the time of conception, the child gets the genes that are there throughout life without changing. The conception, when the mother and father’s repruductive cells are joined to a new cell, results in that a new person is created. In that moment it is determined which hair color, eye color and blood group that specific individual will have. It is from that moment man owns the right to life – a universal right we all have. (Read the Children’s Convention here.)
WE WILL WORK for stronger legal protection for the unborn, a reduction of the high abortion rates and good alternatives to abortion in Sweden. We want to work towards a zero-vision for abortions, that is, for a society where no one will have to undergo an abortion and where demand is reduced. The most important thing to achieve this goal is to change values in society regarding the unborn child so that it is seen as a human being with full human dignity, as well as showing alternative support and resources.
Ten questions about abortion
1.Are you opponents of abortion?
YOU CAN NOT divide people in such categories. According to the Swedish abortion law, pregnancy is allowed to be interrupted during the first 18 weeks. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks and therefore abortion is not allowed for more than half the pregnancy time. This means that 22 of the 40 weeks of pregnancy abortion is not allowed. During a few weeks (week 19-21) abortion may be granted if special reasons exist after a decision by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). The reason that there is an upper limit for abortion, according to the law’s writing, is mainly due to the unborn child.
WE BELIEVE that one should take greater account of the unborn child and shorten the time when abortion is allowed. There is hardly anyone in Sweden today who thinks that abortion should be allowed from week 22 to 40, thus saying that everyone is actually ”opponents of abortion”.
2.Is not the woman best suited to decide on abortion?
The law that we have today says that the woman can decide on abortion only during part of the pregnancy. Thus, the woman has a limited right to decide today. In no other situation, it is claimed that a person should decide that another person’s life should be interrupted. It is not obvious that it will be so during the time we as humans are in our mother’s womb. In addition, the woman’s decision is influenced by other factors. Examples of this are how the legislation looks, how society views the unborn children and how much responsibility the child’s father takes for the unborn child. It is difficult to claim that the woman’s decision is ”free”.
THERE ARE STUDIES that show that the ultimate determinants of women’s decisions are external factors. Most importantly, just how the dad looks at the situation, but also for example economic and social factors play a major role. These are possible to influence and change. In fact, many women who have an abortion experience very little ”freedom”. They feel on the contrary forced to have the abortion by someone.
ACCORDING TO THE SWEDISH abortion law, it is only the woman who can decide on abortion. But the man’s response to the pregnancy and to the woman is of great importance in her final decision. Research shows that many men and women feel bad for an abortion for a long time afterwards. We want to encourage all dads to take an active role and support the future mother in a pregnancy. It is important that the woman does not feel that she is alone. Instead must both the father and mother take responsibility for the coming child.
3.But is not the child a part of the woman's body?
The child is in the woman’s body, but is at the same time completely separate from the woman. The child is a new, genetically unique individual of its own. In fact, a biological ”special construction” is required in order for the child to be able to stay in the womb and not be rejected as the foreign being and foreign tissue it is. The special construction is called the placenta. The placenta causes the mother’s immune system to not identify the unborn child while giving the baby full access to the mother for nutrition. Without the placenta, continued pregnancy is completely impossible for a number of reasons. The claim that the fetus is a part of the woman, just like a finger or a tumor, is ignorant and completely incorrect. Every child is already a geneticlly unique individual during conception.
4. But the fetus can not be regarded as any human being?
IT IS MEDICINALLY RECOGNIZED that the entire genetic set of a human being occurs at the time of conception. At the moment the man’s sperm and the woman’s egg become one, a new human life begins. That’s when it’s determined which hair color, eye color and blood type exactly that individual will has. At one time the egg divides into several cells and after 21 days the heart begins to strike. When the child is 8-10 weeks old, all organs are in place and the child just needs to grow. That it is an individual of the species Homo sapiens – that is, a human being – nobody can dispute. What else would it be? It’s a living person, though a very small one.
5. But there must be situations when abortion is the only way out? When the woman's life is threatened, for example.
THERE ARE situations where abortion may seem more reasonable. But it is important to remember that the majority of abortions take place for reasons other than the one mentioned in the question. It is usually the case that you simply do not want to receive the child. The reason is that it is not welcome because of what is described as social reasons.
MEDICAL REASONS for terminating a pregnancy are rare. A special situation is if you diagnose a tumor-disease in the woman early in pregnancy. If you then consider that if she does not receive treatment immediately there is a significant risk that the tumor-disease will deteriorate seriously and become directly life-threatening. A difficult position can then arise and you can imagine that an interruption of the pregnancy on medical grounds can be defended. However, this is a very unusual situation.
6. But if the woman is pregnant due to rape or incest?
RAPE AND INCEST are very serious crimes and all victims need a lot of support and help. Obviously, the child is not guilty and should not affect the human value. At the same time, it is understandable that it can be unbearable for a woman to bear and feed a child who has come in a way other than loving. A woman in that situation needs a lot of support and consideration regardless of what decision she takes; if pregnancy is to be completed or interrupted.
7. Do not all children have the right to be welcomed?
Sure, you may wish that it would be like that. At the same time, it is highly unreasonable that people who are not ”welcome” or ”desirable” should be eliminated. If you are perceived as welcomed or not, have very much to do with the attitudes of the society. If only healthy and desired people are to be considered valuable, society becomes hard and inhumane.
There are also many children who are unwanted by their mothers at the beginning, but who later in pregnancy are wanted and very much wanted at their birth. There are also many children who are wanted at birth but maybe six weeks later they are not so ”wanted” when they scream in the middle of the night. Should parents wishes, if they want the child or not, determine whether the child should live?
For most people considering abortion, the decision is difficult. There are many different reasons why an abortion is performed. Often it can be because parents simply think there is no way to keep the child, or if the child has any deviation or physical disability. Society supports and usually encourages abortions at times like these.
We work for a society that instead supports women and families so that more children are given the chance to be born. The child should not have to pay with his life because its parents do not have the perfect conditions for receiving the child. We also believe that all children have equal worth regardless of sex or disability
8. But if a woman is very young, it must be correct with an abortion?
WE ASSUME that the vast majority of pregnancies start with an intercourse without violence or compulsion. We also assume that both she and he know that the outcome may be a child. Then it is reasonable to assume that both are also prepared to take responsibility for their actions and the consequences of them. Certainly, we make less thoughtful things in our lives, but still have to take responsibility for what we do. It’s not fair to ”pay” for our mistakes by letting another individual pay with his life. One can argue that if you feel mature to have sex you should also be mature and willing to take the consequences.
9. Does a woman have a right to abortion after week 18?
IN ACCORDANCE with swedish pracitce the National Board of Health (Socialstyrelsen) may not grant a late abortion after week 18 if the child is considered to be ”viable” outside of the womb. Unique for Sweden is that we can save children born in week 22; The child is then considered to be ”viable” with medical help. But despite the fact that we save children born in week 22, the National Board of Health and Welfare approves late abortions where the child is viable.
AT LATE ABORTIONS, the child often shows signs of life. Midwives and other healthcare staff have advised the National Board of Health that they do not want to assist in late abortions as they do not know how to deal with the child’s struggle to breathe when surviving an abortion. Today, the child is put in a round bowl and is smothered. Instead of setting up an investigation that could lead to that late abortions of this kind won’t happen, the guidelines for midwives are discussed and if it is possible to relieve the healthcare professionals suffering by injecting potassium chloride into the child’s heart before the abortion and before the child is getting out of the uterus.
IN SWEDEN we differentiate between people. Some are considered worthy of saving in week 22 whereas others are left in a bowl to die. This is not ethically defensible.
10. Is there no risk that changes in the abortion law will lead to illegal abortions?
THIS RISK MUST BE CONSIDERED. No changes may be done that lead to illegal activity, similar to that in our country in the 50s and 60s. The most important thing is to change attitudes and to see the unborn child again as a human being with full human dignity. It is therefore important to have a factual debate with mutual respect where you distinguish between facts and values.
EUTHANASI means that with an active action you contribute to someone’s death on her/his demand or supposed request. The purpose of the action must be to kill the patient and must cause the person’s death. One way of giving euthanasia is to give a fatal injection and another way is to deliberately discontinue treatment for the purpose of causing the patient’s death.
EUTHANASIA is not to refrain from commencing or interrupting unnecessary or hopeless treatment in order to allow natural death to occur. Neither to respect a patient’s no for treatment or will to continue treatment. Euthanasia is not to give medication to relieve pain and suffering, although a predicted consequence may be that death occurs faster. Thus, there is a difference between letting someone die because you refrain from treatment that cannot help, and to deliberately kill.
ASSISTED SUICIDE is included in the concept of euthanasia, which means that someone helps a person to take his/her live, for example by giving the person a lethal dose of drugs. Physician-assisted suicide means that a doctor on request will help a patient to take his own life by, for example, prescribe a medicine that causes death. However, the patient must actively perform the action.
EUTHANASIA IS PROHIBITED in big parts of the world, but is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada. Assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland as long as the person who assists does not gain personal benefits from the person’s death, and in Germany assisted suicide is allowed in ”extreme exceptional cases”. In the US states of Oregon, Montana, Washington, California, Vermont and Colorado, as well as the capital Washington DC, physician-assisted suicide is allowed.
Sources:
Kattelus M, Nummi V, (ed) Läkaretik, 7th edition, Helsinki, Finnish Medical Association 2013.
Medical Ethica today. The BMA’s handbook of ethics and law. 2nd edition London 2004.
http://respektlivet.nu/fragor-svar/dodshjalp
What do we mean?
We want to work for the right to life and for preserving the current prohibition of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. We want to promote respect for life in all phases and support initiatives for life-aid instead of euthanasia. Euthanasia is sometimes presented as a solution to ending a human life that is in great suffering. But the respect for life must always be the guiding principle in health care.
THE BASIC ETHICS of health care must be to never hurt, if possible cure, often relieve, always comfort. The doctor’s task should always be to care for life. It must therefore be clear that shortcomings in health care should not motivate physicians to be given the right of euthanaisa, but instead the palliative care should be developed and improved for those who need it most.
Prenatal diagnosis is a collection name for examinations made for information on the unborn baby in the stomach.
Different examinations are used during different parts of the pregnancy, and with the help of the fetus diagnosis, the healthcare can find out the number of fetuses, growth, pregnancy week, status of placenta and fetal water, as well as determining the sex of the baby.
PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS is also used to investigate whether the unborn child in the uterus has any diseases, malformations or chromosomal aberrations. The examinations are done through, for example, ultrasound, CUB tests, fetal water and maternity tests.
PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS is voluntary but is routinely performed in Sweden. Prenatal diagnosis can cause the child to quickly get the help it needs in case of a disease and can save lives. Sometimes the unborn child can be treated for a disease already during pregnancy or in connection with birth. However, when the examination shows a condition or disease that cannot be treated, a difficult dilemma arises because the examination is made on a person (woman) who has consequences for another person (the unborn child).
USE OF PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS raise many difficult ethical questions, such as when should you get an offer for examination, who should receive the offer and the choices that women and couples may face. This is a challenge that needs to be discussed in public and the consequences it has for individuals and society.
What do we mean?
WE OPPOSE the prenatal diagnosis used to sort away unborn children with diagnoses such as Down’s Syndrome. People with disabilities are unique individuals who are entitled to life and should be respected as full citizens in society. We support all people’s equal value and therefore oppose the use of the ”abortion of special reasons” in the abortion law to discriminate against unborn children with disabilities.
WE CONSIDERS that the health care is responsible for providing accurate information on fetal development, possible diagnoses, how to live with a disabled child, and providing information about the community’s resources to the parents. We believe that it is the parents’ choice to choose whether they want to do prenatal diagnosis or not, without any pressure from anywhere.
WE SUPPORT a society that takes care of its weak and has a human perception in which all human beings are equally worthwhile and where the diversity enriches our country. We stand behind the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities where State Parties confirm that every human being has an inherent right to life and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that persons with disabilities are truly enjoying this right on equal terms as others (SÖ 2008: 26).
WE EXPECT that researchers, midwives, doctors and policy makers take their responsibility to jointly promote a society where everyone’s equal value is the prevailing valuation.
FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE IS the right not to carry out actions contrary to one’s conscience and conviction. The conscience is the voice inside ourselves that we cannot ignore. It is important and is about a desire to maintain its moral integrity.
The right to freedom of conscience is governed by the law in most of the Member States of the Council of Europe. Sweden is one of the few exceptions. However, the European Convention is binding Swedish law since 1995, and according to Article 9 of the European Convention everyone has a right to freedom of thought, conscience and freedom of religion. This right includes the freedom to exercise, either publicly or individually, its religion or belief.
Moreover, in European case law there is the right to freedom of conscience, reinforced by Resolution 1763 of the Council of Europe of freedom of conscience for healthcare professionals, which states that no person, hospital or institution shall be forced to carry out or contribute to abortion, death or any other act that may cause death to a person, a human fetus or embryo. It is also established that no one is to be discriminated against if you do not want to participate in any of this.
Sources:
www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_SWE.pdf
http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/News/FeaturesManager-View-EN.asp?ID=950
What do we mean?
WE CONSIDER that freedom of conscience is a human right that should be respected in health care. No one should be forced to extinguish another person’s life, neither through abortion or euthanasia. We work for the right of freedom of conscience to be applied to healthcare professionals.
WE SUPPORT midwife Ellinor Grimmark’s and Linda Steen’s struggle for freedom of conscience in Sweden. Ellinor Grimmark fought for freedom of conscience for almost four years, but lost both in the district court in Jönköping and in the Labor Court. Linda Steen lost her goal in the district court in Nyköping and her goal was never applicable to the Labor Court, as Grimmark already lost her goal there. Both were obliged to pay the other party’s costs of a total of approximately 2.8 million swedish crowns.
In JUNE 2017, the midwives and their legal representatives went to the European Court in Strasbourg in France and handed in a complaint with the Swedish state. The European Court now has to decide whether there is an violation of the right to freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression under the terms of Articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention. It must also look at whether the restrictions were proportionate or if it hade been possible to balance both the patients’s and midwifes’s rights. It may take up to two years for the European Court to make a decisive decision.
If you wish to support the midwives financially in the legal process of the European Court, you can give a gift to the Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers. You can either send Swish to 123-615 89 01 or give via bg 605 – 8630. Mark the contribution ”Midwifes, European Court”.
Attitudes regarding sexuality
In all times sexuality has been a hot topic and so is it today too. What is unique with today’s society is, however, that sex in all its forms is more accessible than ever. Pictures of sex and sexuality are everywhere; in the mobile, in the advertisement and in movies and shows we are watching. Our attitude to sexuality is shaped by all the impressions that meet us.
THE CURRENT SEXUAL NORM is a result of the sexual revolution. The ideology of the revolution was to liberate people, mainly women from a tied sexuality, and accept an increasingly liberal sexuality. The result is an increased tolerance towards several sex partners, pornography, early sexual debut and sex outside a love relationship. The idea of freeing women and letting them enjoy sex as much as men are good. But the actual outcome of the sexual revolution is not unproblematic as research shows that a sexual norm without healthy limits can be harmful and contribute to ill health.
In spite of the acceptance of the current sexual norm by many and that it is taught in our schools, the research show something else. Åsa Kastbom, senior physician of child and adolescent psychiatry in Linköping, has in a study of the sexual habits of young people shown that many people are ill-treated by the increasingly common and temporary sex relationships. Kastbom talks about an overexualization in society where the standards are constantly being tested not least in the pornographic industry. She is of the opinion that many young people are met with the attitude that it’s quite normal to have sex at any time, with anyone and anywhere
Early sexual debut
A SURVEY of 2,200 Swedish 15-year-olds published in the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences clearly shows a number of risk factors linked to early sexual debut. Teenagers who had an early sexual debut have, according to the study, a lower mental well-being than peers. Particularly remarkable is that the girls are feeling the worst.
THE YOUNGER a person is at the sexual debut, the greater the risk that the same person uses drugs/alcohol, acts violently and has a negative attitude towards the school. Consequences that research can directly relate to an early sexual debut are as follows:
-Increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases
-Increased risk of sexual risk taking
-Increased risk of associating sex with emotions like anxiety and loneliness
-Increased verification needs
Several temporary sex partners
BIOLOGICALLY WE KNOW that during intercourse with orgasm, the hormone oxytocin is secreted. This hormone helps to create strong emotional bands and it is, among other things, the same hormone secreted by a mother when breastfeeding her child. Therefore, if you have multiple and temporary sex partners, it is not uncommon to feel feelings like abandonment and insecurity.
ALTHOUGH THESE feelings come, it’s not uncommon to look for similar temporary sexual relationships. As a result, the feelings of abandonment and insecurity increase. Even though there has not been so much research on the psychosocial consequences of several temporary sex partners the studies we have show that women are particularly vulnerable to just emotional disorders. The risks of sexually transmitted diseases are also increasing in several temporary sex partners.
Sexually transmitted diseases
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES are transmitted primarily when mucous membranes meet each other, such as vaginal sex, anal sex and oral sex. The risk of sexually transmitted diseases increase when a person has several temporary sex partners, especially if they have not protected sex. There are many different sexually transmitted diseases and information about these can be found at 1177.se.
WE WANT TO briefly mention the HPV-virus. HPV (Human Papillom Virus) is a virus that infects at sexual contact and can cause cellular changes, which in turn can lead to cervical cancer. The virus infects personally and is considered to be the most common sexually transmitted diseases in Sweden. Unlike other sexually transmitted diseases, condom does not constitute one hundred percent protection but can only be protected to a certain extent. The virus is found in over a hundred different types and of all these different types there are only thirteen types that cause cancer in the uterus. The vaccine Gardasil for HPV is now included in the General Infant Program for Children (Girls) and recommended from the age of nine.
We see a big problem with this vaccine and the information given in the community about HPV. The vaccine available for HPV protects only for two of the thirteen types that can cause cancer. In addition, it has been largely untested and several reports show that it can give devastating consequences to the vaccinated girl. Among other things, Gardasil is suspected of being the cause of whining, nausea, headache and spasms on completely healthy girls. Danish TV2 sent a documentary film on the topic March 26, 2015. Here you can also see an interview in TV4 with a young Swedish girl who is paralyzed by the vaccine. We want parents and women to pay attention to the problem of Gardasil and to be aware of the risks associated with this still very much untested vaccine. The only good protection for HPV is abstinence and to refrain from several sex partners.
Talk about sex with your children
IN SPITE OF SEXUALITY being a natural and central part of life, some parents find it difficult to talk to their children about sex. Not rarely, parents transfer responsibility for sexual education to school and youth receptions. But as a parent you have the ultimate responsibility for your children and you are the natural guide into adulthood. This mission also includes guidance for a healthy sexuality.
THE BASIS FOR making wise choices about sexuality is not just about being told what is right and wrong. Instead, the foundation is being built when, as a parent, you convey to your child that the child is valuable, respected and confirmed. A safe child with good self-esteem, has to a greater extent better opportunities to make healthy choices when faced with his/her and others’s sexuality.
IF YOU WANT to have tips on how to talk to your children about sex, please read more here.
Sexual norm
THE PREVAILING SEXUAL NORM, which includes tolerance for increased sexual risk-behavior, contributes extremely to ill health and unsatisfaction. Although many point out the desire for happiness in several temporary sex partners, many, especially women, experience increased insecurity and abandonment because of these contacts. An early sexual debut is also directly associated with ill health as an increased risk of low self-esteem, negative feelings and increased sexual risk behavior. Here too, the psychosocial consequences seem to affect girls and young women to a greater extent.
FURTHER, THERE IS no adequate protection for sexually transmitted infections. Gardasil, the vaccine distributed to girls, is a questionable product that should be used with extreme caution, since alert reports show a number of very serious side effects. Our prevailing sexual norm is a result of the sexual revolution whose main purpose was to free women. But in hindsight it may be time to realize that it has instead meant sexual ill health – especially for women. Instead of liberating women, the result of the sexual revolution has contributed to an increased oppression and vulnerability for women.
What do we mean?
WE ADVOCATE A sexual and reproductive health that includes a holistic view of man, where human value is in focus. We want to promote information that allows every person to make healthy choices that affect their sexuality.
SEXUALITY includes the woman, the man and the child that may become. Sex is about all these individuals and can not only be about their own satisfaction. It is inescapable to separate sex from the life-giving aspect. Sex in a sustainable relationship (hållbar relation) where both parties love and respect each other are good conditions for also completing the pregnancy and allowing the child you create together to live. But when sex goes beyond that context and is primarily exercised for its own satisfaction, abortion can appear as a resort out of an unforeseen situation. If sex is only about your own self, you do not expect to take responsibility for someone else, and therefore the unborn child is assigned low status without human dignity.
WE MUST TALK about an attitude that is healthy and that contributes to a rich and sustainable sexuality. In sexual health there is a joyful sex where both men and women can enjoy each other’s bodies. But it happens on condition of both the man and the woman and above all in a safe environment, where both man and woman are ready to take responsibility for the child. When sex is something you practice with your partner and when it is about ”us” and meeting each other’s needs and satisfaction, there is a good foundation for a healthier life. Sex can then be a component to a stronger relationship and an increased well-being.
SURROGACY IS AN AGREEMENT between a surrogate mother and a purchasing couple (buyer). The contract means that the woman carries and gives birth to a child for the benefit of others. She thus disclaims the right to her body, custody and contact with the child after childbirth.
THERE ARE TWO types of surrogacy; complete and partial. Complete surrogacy means that eggs are taken out of the woman who can not be pregnant, alternatively an egg donor is used . Then a IVF is performed and the fertilized egg is implanted in the surrogate mother. She then carries someone elses child for nine months in her womb. In the case of partial surrogacy, the surrogate mother donates the egg she has and the child also carries her genes. Partial surrogacy is not used to a large extent today.
THERE IS ALSO commercial and altruistic (non-commercial) surrogacy. Commercial surrogacy is when parents pay a woman to carry their children. Altruistic surrogacy is on the other hand when a woman without payment chooses to carry the child on behalf of someone else.
What do we mean?
WE TAKE A STAND AGAINST ALL forms of surrogacy as it leads to the exploitation of women and makes children eligible items and merchandise. Surrocagy opens up for a human view where women and children are objectified. The risks of such a process, for both the woman and the child, can be both physically and mentally harmful.
A human being should not be ordered, sold or purchased at any price. Surrogacy is a violation of human rights. According to Article 21 of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Human Dignity with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine, it is stated that ”the human body and its parts must not in themselves give rise to economic gain.” It violates the principle of human dignity to use another human being as a mean for your own purposes