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New Delhi, March 30,2018:
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a green signal to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016 that prohibits the commercialization of surrogacy in India.
If at all commercial surrogacy is undertaken it shall lead to heavy fines or even imprisonment. According to the amendments seen recently, only infertile couples, who are biologically incapable to reproduce and who have been married for at least five years are eligible to seek a child through altruistic surrogacy.
In accordance to detailed notice, there is a complete ban on commercial surrogacy, only altruistic surrogacy will be considered legal. Altruistic surrogacy, abiding to the latest bill means that there shall be no kind of monetary incentives involved exclusive of the medical expenses and medical insurance of the surrogate mother.
According to the bill, only a close relative of the prospective parents can opt to be a surrogate mother. The surrogate mother should fall in the age bracket of 25-35 years and must have an appropriate authority. Also, the surrogate mother must have a baby of her own, is eligible for the same.
Violation of these amendments shall lead to paying a hefty amount to the government for not following the rules and regulations. Every offence committed under this act shall be non-bailable and non-compoundable.
“We are very contented with the fact that the lawmakers of our country have taken a leap forward for a compelling issue like surrogacy. The amendments made to the surrogacy bill are retrograde and orthodox. The government only seeks to focus and cater to the needs of the Indian married infertile couples whereas, the government has completely neglected and overlooked single parents and married people who suffer from medical problems. They have also disregarded the people who are not physically fit and have severe and chronic diseases like thalassemia, anemia, tuberculosis etc, where the baby is also prone to these diseases.” says Dr. Rita Bakshi, Senior Gynecologist and IVF Specialist, Founder of International Fertility Centre.
One of the major loophole or ambiguity made in the bill is through the contribution of close relatives of the prospective mother can only being the surrogate mother. This shall seek to force or compel their close relatives to become a surrogate mother
In this thoughtless effort made by the government, the exploitation for the women of our country shall only increase. This effort made by the government shall only increases the miseries for the relatives of the incapable parents. This shall even lead to disharmony among the family members. This situation shall lead to uplifted victimization of the women.
“The proclamation stated in the bill has a lot of shortfalls and seems as if the government has no concern with the need and cause of Surrogacy Practices in India. With the Bill, the government has made a worst situation for both, the prospective mother and the surrogate mother. This shall only widen the resentment between the women in case, the surrogate mother is unwilling to carry the baby. Thus, we seek that the government must make further amendments in the bill for smoother functioning and practices of surrogacy in India. The complete ban on commercial surrogacy and promoting ethical altruistic surrogacy, with involvement of only close relatives is not the solution and is not at all realistic and practical.” further Dr. Bakshi added.
