After much dilly-dallying, the draft Surrogacy (Regulation) bill that aims to clip wings of renting-a-womb in India is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet on Wednesday. The Bill also specifies that only couples married for at least five years can seek surrogacy, Swaraj said.
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According to the health ministry proposal, the draft Surrogacy Bill, 2016 aims at properly regulating the commissioning of surrogacy in the country.
The government had recently admitted that in the absence of a statutory mechanism to control the commissioning of surrogacy, there have been cases of pregnancies by way of surrogacy, including in rural and tribal areas, allowing for the possible exploitation of women by unscrupulous elements.
External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj explains the new surrogacy bill.
There was also an angle that there are couples who are not able to produce kids but their relatives are willing to help then why should the government come in between.
“The altruistic surrogacy will not be allowed to single parents, live-in partners and homosexual couples”, she added.
Official sources said the Cabinet gave its green signal to the Bill to be introduced in Parliament.
She also said that altruistic surrogacy will only be allowed for Indian citizens and not to NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) or OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card holders. “The GoM was of the opinion to not extend the network of surrogacy beyond blood relations, family, community, country, so as to ban its commercialisation and not let the normal biological function of a woman’s body get into a commercial contract”, sources said.
“Big celebrities who not only have one but two children, a son and a daughter, even then they went ahead with surrogacy”, she said.
To ensure adherence to the rules, the government will set up a National Surrogacy Board at the central level and State Surrogacy Boards in State and UTs will be formed, the minister said.
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The new draft bill bans commercial surrogacy but allows altruistic surrogacy, where women can legally carry someone else’s child if no money (other than medical cost and insurance), favour or coercion is involved.
