The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019

What is the issue?

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 was introduced with intent to facilitate altruistic surrogacy in the country.
• It stipulates that a surrogate mother has to be a ‘close relative’ of the intending couple.

What is the matter of concern?

• The government claims that regulating surrogacy will put an end to widespread commercialisation of the practice.
• But, it has left a lot of women from underprivileged backgrounds who lend their wombs worse off.

Will the bill have an impact on surrogacy in the country?

• For surrogacy to happen, embryos should be cultured in In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) laboratories.
• So, before discussing the surrogacy bill, there is a need to discuss the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill first.

What are the problems in the bill?

• It did not talk about NRIs who are abroad, who may want to come back home to have a baby.
• It leaves out unmarried couples who want to have a baby through surrogacy, and gay couples, single men and single women who want to have a baby through IVF.
• It allows only altruistic surrogacy. This provision is very problematic as it has failed in many other countries.
• The surrogate mothers are doing an admirable job but they needn’t put their life on hold for it and they can be paid for it.

Will the bill manage to ensure a fair and just process?

• Sometimes, the surrogates were thoroughly exploited by the agents, the middlemen, etc.,
• There should be a contract signed between the surrogates and the commissioning parents.
• It should include details of the payment, insurance coverage, and give an assurance that the mothers will be treated properly.
• As it is a means of livelihood for the surrogates, they are mostly not very attached to the babies they are carrying.

Have all points of view been represented in the bill?

• The public should have a say about the bill through public debates all over the country.
• This may include couples with infertility problems; transgender people, single women, divorced women, and widows’ views.
• A woman has the right to privacy when she makes her choice about reproduction. So, this has to be incorporated into the bill.

What needs to be done further?

• We need a law, but passing the Surrogacy Bill without looking at the whole process will be a disaster.
• The whole Bill should be drafted again with taking into consideration the physical and emotional factors at stake.
• Meanwhile, there are many people who don’t know whether they can hire a surrogate or not. They should be made aware.
• There should be some solution given to people who have already hired surrogates.
• The government had banned surrogacy for foreigners, but some had already put their embryos in deep freeze here.
• They asked for the embryos to be returned but the government said there can be no export and import of embryos any more.
• We cannot put them in jeopardy at the last moment; they should be given enough consideration.

Source: The Hindu