“We can’t believe that we could be forced to do the unthinkable and leave our baby in India!” the couple said in a petition on change.org. Swaraj took up their case on Wednesday in a series of tweets.
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Referring to a BBC report that shared plight of the British couple, Swaraj tweeted, “Should (an) orphanage be the destiny of a surrogate baby?” We will help u with extension of your Visa. The parents may be forced to leave the child in a Mumbai orphanage as the United Kingdom government has delayed the child’s passport.
Ms Swaraj questioned British authorities in her tweets and also took a swipe at those who have criticized the government’s move towards tougher surrogacy laws. If the baby’s visa doesn’t reach on time, till the British parents are here, in India, the daughter named Lily will be left behind. Chris and Michele Newman are in Mumbai on a medical visa that is valid until October 7.
In an earlier interview with the Telegraph, Mr Newman had spoken of his fear after British diplomats told him and his wife Michele, both in their forties, to prepare to leave Lily behind if her passport was not ready.
“I did have to do something no father had to – I was pacing around at 3am, looking at orphanages in the middle of Mumbai”.
The Newmans applied for her passport on June 3, but began to panic when little progress had been made by September and their visas neared expiry on October 7.
The Newmans are among the last to have a surrogate baby in India after the government last month chose to ban commercial surrogacy and said only a close relative can be a surrogate.
“However, we have been left stranded because of delays due to UK Passport Office (HMPO) checks and may have to leave our three-and-a-half-month-old daughter with a complete stranger as we are forced to leave by the Indian government”, the Newmans expressed their apprehensions.
According to United Kingdom media reports, the couple from Surrey in south-east England are among last to be allowed to use an Indian surrogate mother since the Indian government banned commercial worldwide surrogacy last November.
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Last month, the Centre had passed the Surrogacy Regulation Bill which proposed a complete ban on commercial surrogacy in the country.
