The Catholic Women's League of Victoria and Wagga Wagga argues that both commercial and altruistic surrogacy arrangements are a form of violence against women and quotes research linking the practice to prostitution.

In its submission to the parliamentary inquiry into surrogacy, the religious group also said legalising surrogacy in Australia would result in another "stolen generation".

"Governments do not owe children to people and people do not have the right to demand this of any government," it said.

As part of its submission, the group adopted a graphic containing two photographs: one with hens locked in cages inside a dark shed and the other with a row of women lying on beds.

"If this upsets you … this should make you furious!" the captions over the graphic says.

Sam Everingham, director of Families Through Surrogacy, said comments linking surrogacy to prostitution, violence and factory farming were "ridiculous".

"I don't think any of the people who write these religious submissions have ever talked to a surrogate or parents involved," he said. "Unless you've actually looked at research with surrogates and parents you can't make these general statements that just promote fear. It's unfair and unjust."

But Mr Everingham, a father of two daughters born through an Indian surrogate, acknowledged there was a risk of women being exploited in surrogacy arrangements if they were not screened properly.

"What we don't have in Australia right now is adequate screening of surrogates," he said. "If they are screened psychologically the risks are minimised and it tends to be a win win for the surrogate and the parents."

Altruistic surrogacy is legal in Australia, but commercial surrogacy is not. In some states entering a commercial surrogacy agreement overseas is also banned.

Attorney General George Brandis last year asked the House of Representatives committee on social policy and legal affairs to investigate international and domestic surrogacy arrangements.

The inquiry is examining the health, legal, welfare and immigration implications in a bid to better protect women and children. It is also investigating the risk of exploitation and issues around consent.

It follows the high-profile 2014 case involving "Baby Gammy", who was left in Thailand with a surrogate mother by his West Australian parents who returned home with his healthy twin sister.

In a separate submission last week, Catholic Church leaders said surrogacy "offends human dignity" and that it would be "intolerable" to allow the development of a commercial surrogacy industry in Australia.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said surrogacy denied the rights of children and allowed for the exploitation of women.

The submission said surrogacy can "transfer the sadness" from the infertile couple to the surrogate. It called for laws that protect children rather than "cultivating the conditions in which they are displaced from their natural family".

"Surrogacy is not undertaken with the priorities and interests of the child in mind, but rather the interests of the adults who want a child," Bishop Peter Comensoli said. "It gives priority to the childless woman, man or commissioning parents over the woman who is the surrogate mother."

The parliamentary inquiry is expected to report by the end of June.