Some men feel that the more they have children, the more they are important. Therefore you will find some of them who commit rape. So the raped women are forced to carry out compulsory surrogacy for these men. These women would be using their uterus so that these men can have babies. And what does the Church say in these cases?  The Church tells these women "Do not stop the surrogacy; you must bring the child into the world at all costs." In this case, isn't the womb of the woman sacred? The Church does not allow these women to use the morning after pill, where the foetus in question is still a cell or very few cells. 

Has the Church forgotten when bishops, priests and others used to preach that women have no souls? Now it seems that the few little fish-shaped cells have a soul. What proof is there of this? Somebody says something, and the parrots repeat it.

Another thing, the Church seems to have a grudge against gays, because heterosexual men have been using woman as a surrogate since sex was invented. There are men who want one thing - an heir -therefore use women as surrogates to have an heir. Everybody knows how women were used and in some cases are still used as objects The Church still does not appoint women as priests of bishops. Women are just used to accommodate priests. Where is the dignity of women? The all-female person is used as a commodity by the Church and some men. Women use all their body to serve church officials, so why make an exception of the womb.

Certain people who feel obliged to obey to the Church should ask, which phase of the Church, should I obey? The phase when it said that purgatory existed, when it said that autopsies are sinful and so on.

Well, you who are reading this, if you need to make a sacrifice to obey the current Church, remember that in some 20 years' time you might find that the Church has changed its opinion on what you had in mind. You would have sacrificed yourself for no purpose.

There were some who worried that with certain interventions, the baby might be born handicapped. Today, in the vast majority of cases, you can know if the foetus is defective at the beginning of pregnancy. We should not forget that the Church could have a vested interest where handicapped children etc. are involved. When members of the Church look after these children, many are handsomely rewarded. So much so that if we look at history, we find people who used to disfigure normal children so that they would use them as charitable objects and live a very comfortable life at the expense of these children.

And what about those women, as most likely they would be women, who spend many long years looking after their handicapped children. For years, many of these women would not be able to join their family on a pizza outing etc. 

Everybody preaches sacrifice provided that they do not do it themselves.

And since when has human life become sacred? Have we forgotten the blessing of the soldiers taking part in imperialistic wars and the armies of the Church? I would prefer to remove a foetus, if contraceptives fail me, than see my soldier son dead, because the country cannot tackle the overpopulation problem.

 Some are worried that if surrogacy is introduced there might be more than two parents; so what. In many cases of consensual divorce and separations, children have parents and step-parents, let's say four in number. And many children, under good guidance manage to establish good relations with all of them. Most of these children are really happy to receive four presents instead of two. 

Let's return to the rental of the uterus. When I want to carry a very heavy object, I use the services of a strong man and I pay him. Many people use the mind and hands of doctors and nursing staff and pay them, or the government does. If a priest needs a kidney transplant, he will not think twice to accept the kidney of a loyal parishioner; so why should we question the use of the uterus?

Why should not women also use the service of surrogacy? Rich women have used the health and cleaning services of other women; these services involve the use of the whole body, for centuries. Also, priests have had live-in housekeepers for centuries.

 If I had to choose whether to work as a surrogate mother or as a maid I would choose the former. I would love the healthy food and the care and attention I would be given. Surely I would not be subjected to carrying heavy objects etc.

Also, somebody mentioned the Bioethics Committee. Who chooses this committee? Are there any women on it? Of course these women must not be spokespersons of the Church. Let alone that in some organizations we have to do with token women

The citizen needs to start thinking with his own mind and not obey the Church blindly.

Josephine Gatt-Ciancio

Kalkara