India’s proposed Surrogacy Bill which is expected to be introduced in the Parliament on Wednesday promises to overhaul the entire surrogacy industry in India.
The that the Indian surrogacy industry is at "around $1 billion a year and growing". India has also been called the ‘surrogacy hub for couples from different countries”.
The proposed bill has laid down strict guidelines like who is an eligible candidate for surrogacy to restrictions on who can be a surrogate mother.
The government, in this legislation, also defines a couple in "need" for a surrogate child.
Here are the 7 most important aspects about this bill:
1. It bans commercial surrogacy.
With an aim to curb the unethical practices that have raised concerns about the surrogate’s health and the babies being produced in return for money, the health ministry has proposed to ban commercial surrogacy altogether in India.
2. Foreign nationals can't get Indian surrogate mothers.
The bill effectively bans foreigners from seeking an Indian surrogate mother. This includes non-resident Indians (NRIs) who no longer hold an Indian passport. Only Indian passport holders will be allowed surrogacy.
3. It legalises surrogacy for infertile Indian couples.
The proposed law however allows married Indian couples with "" to take the surrogacy route.
"There will be a complete ban on commercial surrogacy. Childless couples, who are medically unfit to have children, can take help from a close relative, in what is an altruistic surrogacy," Swaraj said at a news conference in New Delhi.
4. The length of your marriage matters.
The proposed draft states you have to be married for before approaching a surrogate mother. Further, the woman has to be between 23-50 years of age and the man should be 26-55 years old.
5. You can't pay a surrogate mother and she needs to be a ‘close relative’.
If a woman agrees to be a surrogate mother for you, you cant pay her for bearing your child. You can pay for any and all of her medical bills, but nothing more. Also, you can only approach a close relative for surrogacy.
6. If you have a child, you can't try for another one. Surrogacy will only be allowed once.
If you have a child already, or you adopted a child in the past, you can't approach a surrogate mother.
External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday lashed out on celebrity couples who she reprimanded (without naming names) for having a surrogate child "even though they have two children, one boy and one girl".
Also, surrogacy will be allowed only once – for parents as well as those who have been surrogate mothers.
7. Surrogacy regulatory body will be established.
The government has proposed to establish a National Surrogacy Board at the central level and State Surrogacy Boards and appropriate authorities in the states and union territories. They will overlook all cases of surrogacy and regulate hospitals and clinics that offer this in India.
