Pope Leo XIV sharply denounced abortion and warned against the growing surrogacy industry on Friday, telling members of the diplomatic corps that both practices violate human dignity and undermine the family. Speaking at the Vatican, the pope framed his remarks around the Christian conviction that life is a gift entrusted to the family, not a product to be purchased, discarded, or manipulated for personal convenience.

“In light of this profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished, and of the family as its responsible guardian, we categorically reject any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development,” Pope Leo said. “Among these is abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life.”

The pope voiced particular concern about international efforts to expand access to abortion, including through financial assistance for women who travel across borders to terminate pregnancies. “In this regard, the Holy See expresses deep concern about projects aimed at financing cross-border mobility for the purpose of accessing the so-called ‘right to safe abortion,'” he said. He criticized governments that use taxpayer money to “suppress life,” adding, “The primary objective must remain the protection of every unborn child and the effective and concrete support of every woman so that she is able to welcome life.”

Pope Leo also addressed surrogacy, a growing global industry that reached an estimated $16 billion in 2024 and is projected to more than double within five years. He warned that the practice of paying a woman to carry a child for another person reduces human life to a commercial transaction. “By transforming gestation into a negotiable service, this violates the dignity both of the child, who is reduced to a ‘product,’ and of the mother, exploiting her body and the generative process,” he said.

Before turning to surrogacy, the pontiff reaffirmed historic Church teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman, noting that the natural family plays a unique role in welcoming and raising children. He added that the decline in birth rates across developed nations makes strengthening families even more urgent: “Life, in fact, is a priceless gift that develops within a committed relationship based on mutual self-giving and service.”

Pope Leo’s speech underscores the Vatican’s ongoing commitment to addressing bioethical issues, particularly in a time when technology, economics, and shifting cultural perspectives are transforming society’s understanding of children, families, and the nature of human life.