In a historic move, the Rajya Sabha is looking to pass the Surrogacy law in India in order to regulate it better. But, it appears to be more of a near-ban of surrogacy!
India is the surrogacy capital of the world. Ever since India legalised surrogacy in 2002, scores of fertility clinics came up to offer the service to residents, NRIs, and even foreign nationals. However, the industry was never really regulated until the Surrogacy Regulation Bill was passed in August 2019. This was done primarily to put a tab on the commercial aspect of surrogacy in order to protect the rights of poor women and girls who are renting their wombs to make money, but in the process were being exploited.
Currently, this surrogacy bill passed in the Lok Sabha earlier this year allows only altruistic surrogacy wherein, a woman is allowed to carry someone else’s child legally as a favour without the involvement of money or being coerced or forced into doing it. The law also allows surrogacy only for fertile Indian couples who have been married for atleast 5 years and those who already have a child cannot opt for it. The Health Minister spearheaded the issue to be passed in the Rajya Sabha.
However, the country is divided in their views about this surrogacy bill as the Indian society and culture view a childless couple in a different light. By banning commercial surrogacy, it can lead to many broken marriages and also prevent members of the LGBTQ community from having a family of their own. However, the primary aim of this bill is to put an end to all the unethical and inhumane practises that crop-up surrounding surrogacy. How does the future of surrogacy look in India? Well, that is yet to be seen!
