Many couples in India do not get the happiness of becoming parents. Be it infertility or any other problem. For such couples, surrogacy proves to be no less than a boon. Many couples have had the pleasure of becoming parents through surrogacy. At the same time, surrogacy is also a process that saves people from being deprived of the joy of becoming parents. On the occasion of Mother’s Day, we are telling you in detail about the process of surrogacy, surrogacy law in India and all the important things.
What is surrogacy?
If we explain it in simple words then using the womb of another woman is called surrogacy. This means that the child of one couple grows in the womb of another woman. Surrogacy facilities can be availed by those women who are unable to get pregnant on their own due to physical problems.
There are two types of surrogacy –
- Traditional and
- Gestational.
In Traditional Surrogacy, the father’s sperm is mixed with the surrogate mother’s eggs. In this process, the biological mother of the child is the surrogate mother. However, officially the parents are the couple who have chosen the woman for surrogacy.
Whereas, in Gestational Surrogacy, the father’s sperm and mother’s egg are mixed and placed in the womb of the surrogate mother. In this process, the surrogate mother only gives birth to the child but is not the biological mother. That means the genes of the surrogate mother have no relation with the child.
Is surrogacy legal in India?
There are many countries where surrogacy is illegal. Although surrogacy is legal in India, certain rules and regulations can be followed before adopting the process. The rules and regulations related to this have been brought recently, that too because people cannot commercialize surrogacy and it can be used by needy couples. The Government of India has made changes in the rules and regulations of surrogacy and made it stricter.
Surrogacy Bill 2019
To prevent misuse of surrogacy law, it has been proposed to pass the Surrogacy Bill in the year 2019. At that time, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan had introduced this bill in the Lok Sabha. This Bill talks about the formation of the National Surrogacy Board and State Surrogacy Board. At the same time, there is also a provision for the appointment of officers responsible for monitoring surrogacy.
Surrogacy will be allowed only to childless married couples. Also, to avail of the facility of surrogacy, many conditions have to be fulfilled. For example, the person availing the surrogacy facility has to take care of the health and safety of the woman who is ready to become a surrogate mother.
The bill prohibits commercial surrogacy but allows altruistic surrogacy. In altruistic surrogacy, no money or compensation is paid to the surrogate mother except to cover medical expenses and insurance coverage during the pregnancy. Whereas, in commercial surrogacy, along with medical expenses and insurance coverage, money or other facilities were also provided.
When is surrogacy allowed?
- Couples who are struggling with infertility.
- Couples who are not interested in it.
- Surrogacy should not be used for selling children, prostitution or other forms of exploitation.
- When someone is going through a serious illness, due to which conceiving is becoming difficult.
What is the qualification required to become a surrogate?
- The surrogate should also be eligible for this process. The age of the woman becoming a surrogate should be between 25 to 35 years. He must be married and have children of his own. Apart from this, he became a surrogate for the first time. After all this, the woman will also have to obtain a certificate from a psychiatrist, in which her mental health is certified.
- Once the couple and surrogate get their eligibility certificate, they can approach the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) center for embryo transfer.
- The law also says that the surrogate mother and the couple will have to link their Aadhar card. This will help in tracing the biometrics of individuals involved in transactions, thereby reducing the scope for fraud.
Some other things of Surrogacy Law
- The Indian Marriage Act does not recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry. Therefore, same-sex couples cannot use surrogacy to have children.
- Once the contract is signed, the surrogate can neither refuse to carry forward the pregnancy nor terminate the pregnancy of her own free will.
- The law says that in the surrogacy process, the parents must have a relationship with the fetus, either with the father, with the mother or with both. This means that the embryo is not allowed to belong to someone else.
- If an Indian couple uses the services of a surrogate outside the country, the child born to them will not be recognized as an Indian citizen.
- Children born through surrogacy can claim the right to know that they were born through surrogacy when they turn 18. They also have the right to know the identity of the surrogate mother.
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