Under the provision of the Bill, single parents, homosexual couples and live-in relationship couples are not allowed to access altruistic surrogacy. In an effort to put an end to a practice that has made India the world capital of the womb-for-rent industry, the government has ruled out entirely singles, gays and foreigners. A jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs10 lakh for opting for commercial surrogacy and abandoning the child will serve a good lesson for the offenders.
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The bill proposes limiting surrogacy to childless, married couples who have waited five years and can prove that they are medically unable to bear their own children.
“Altruistic surrogacy will only be allowed for Indian citizens, not Non Resident Indians or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders”, she added. A surrogate mother has also to be in close relation to the couple seeking a surrogate child. A woman who offers her womb for the goal will be able to do so only once as per the proposed legislation.
NEW DELHI (AP) The Indian government plans to ban foreigners, single parents and gay couples from using India’s surrogacy services under a proposed law meant to protect poor women from exploitation. There is a provision under the measure for a contract to clear any ambiguity. While commercial surrogacy will be prohibited including sale and purchase of human embryo and gametes, ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples will be allowed on fulfilment of certain conditions and for specific purposes.
When the new law comes into force, surrogacy will be allowed only for a close family relative of a childless couple under what Swaraj called “altruistic surrogacy”.
The Minister has clarified that a surrogate child will have all the rights that a biological child has, including right to property.
The minister did not name anyone but the biggest celebrity who has a son, daughter and a surrogate child is Shah Rukh. “Something which started as a necessity has become a hobby now”, she said. They all opted for surrogacy to make their dream of parenthood come true. She told ANI that the bill will prevent exploitation of poor women being used as surrogates for money and will also check the middlemen who are trying to bring women from poor areas for the objective of surrogacy.
The proposed surrogate mother should be married and should have given birth to a healthy child before, Swaraj said.
“A surrogate mother must be married and have at least one child”. She said surrogacy needs regulation by fixing compensation and ensuring that surrogate mothers get their due.
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India is all set to ban commercial surrogacy with the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016, being cleared by the cabinet for introduction in the winter session of parliament. The GoM was constituted at the behest of the Prime minister’s office. “We have had cases of girls being abandoned, a twin being left behind and disabled babies being rejected”, the minister explained.
