Surrogacy In India: New Norms For New Borns

The word ‘surrogate’ means ‘substitute’, and now there is a substitute for motherhood. Although the beautiful capacity to procreate a life has been naturally bestowed upon a woman, but there are a few unfortunates as well.  

India observed a rise in the cases of surrogacy in the recent years, as being one of the few nations, India had allowed commercial surrogacy since 2002 which was subsequently banned in 2015. Prior to introduction of these laws, surrogacy in India was only governed by supervisory regulations laid down by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 

In a recent development, surrogacy laws have been legislated in India on December 08, 2021, after the Upper House of the Parliament passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2021 along with the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2020. The latter Bill when it was introduced before the Lok Sabha in 2016 became controversial which was then referred to a select committee by the Rajya Sabha in 2019. The Bill has now been passed after incorporation of most of the recommendations of the select committee. 

The new laws not only regulate the services provided by the ART clinics in India but also the rights and responsibilities of both the surrogate mother and the commissioning parents. The Bills were introduced together as they were closely related to each other, to regulate ART services of IVF and curb unethical practices like sex selection, exploitation of surrogate mothers, sale of human embryos or gametes, running agencies, rackets, and organisations violating the law. India is still under-reported in terms of infanticide and other related crimes in India, due to the lack of reliable data.  

India is going through a radical time whereby the citizens’ thought process is undergoing a deep-seated shift away from patriarchal norms to more feministic tenets and the proposed surrogacy legislations, seems to be very promising in these times. It is also hoped that one of the many unethical practices of undue exploitation of women may also be curbed now. 

While it is argued that still many of the recommendations of the select committee are yet to be advanced and incorporated to produce meaningful beneficial legislation bereft of practical shortcomings, it is hoped that with the advent of these novel legislations, availing surrogacy in India would be recognized as a reproductive right. Soon there will be an increased need for the statutory interpretation of new laws by the IVF clinics providing ART services in the coming times.