Surrogacy law: Right to right parenthood

A lot of discussions are going on around surrogacy trend in India. While some argue that it has become some sort of style statement, some other feel that it is impacting adoption rates negatively.

On Wednesday, the Union Cabinet cleared a Bill which aims to safeguard the rights of surrogate mothers and legalise their parentage. The Bill also proposed a complete ban on commercial surrogacy and allowing only legally-wedded couples to opt for children to check unethical practices. Let’s look what celebs, single parents and doctors say.

Condemning the misuse of altruistic surrogacy, minister for external affairs Sushma Swaraj alleged that what started for convenience has become a luxury.  Lashing out at celebrities for choosing surrogacy and making it “trendy”, she said, “Even celebrities who have not one but two children — a son and a daughter — went ahead with surrogacy.”

However, dismissing her statements, P. S. N. Prasad, chairman of  Dr Rama’s Institute for Fertility, says, “The Khans or other celebrities don’t constitute even one per cent. 99.99 per cent of couples who seek surrogacy are those who can’t have their own genetic baby.”

Sushma alleged that India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples and unethical practices. But Prasad says otherwise. “Not even 500 surrogacy babies are born to foreigners every year in India. We hardly have two births per month. Surrogacy has simply attracted too much attention due to its sensational nature. Too many difficulties of logistics are involved for the intending parents, surrogates and hospitals. It is practised only as a last hope and resort. And there are no reported cases of exploitation with the government,” he reasons.

Joy of (single) parenting
Many politicians, officials and rich businessmen go abroad for organ transplants which are prohibited in India. Likewise, the rich and the mighty will be unaffected by the law even if surrogacy is banned, says Prasad.

“It is only the poor and middle classes that are affected. The rich can find surrogate babies abroad if they want.” According to the ministry, childless couples who are medically unfit can get help from a close relative. Prasad asks, “Is there any guarantee that they won’t forge documents to prove their relationship?”

Surrogacy Made Gay Family Complete
A male citizen of an EU country on condition of anonymity, considers himself lucky and says, “I came to India eight years ago after my gay partner and I for five years decided to have a baby. My country did not and still does not permit surrogacy and I found a surrogate in India who conceived of my sperm and a donor egg from an anonymous Indian donor. I took permission from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to take my child on a travel document issued by my embassy. After a few years of legal proceedings, my child has been recognised as my child.”