Lok Sabha recently passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016.
What is the need?
Surrogacy is the practice where a woman agrees to give birth to a baby (usually by artificial insemination or surgical implantation) on behalf of another couple.
Annually, surrogacy is a $2.3 billion industry across India, fed by lack of regulation and poverty.
Around 2,000-odd babies were born per year through commercial surrogacy (on payment).
There have been several reports about the exploitation of surrogate mothers.
They were kept confined in hostels during pregnancy and not allowed to meet their families.
Some women were doing it repeatedly for a paltry amount thus putting their own bodies at risk.
The 228th report of the Law Commission had recommended prohibition of commercial surrogacy - allowed only in Russia, Ukraine and California.
What are the provisions in the new Bill?
The Bill seeks to put an end to commercial surrogacy - payment to a surrogate mother is punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment.
The Bill allows only altruistic surrogacy (by relatives) for married couples.
It allows surrogacy to intending infertile Indian married couples between the ages of 23-50 (female) and 26-55 (male).
It limits the option to only legally married childless couples who have been trying for a child for at least 5 years.
The commissioning couple cannot have a surviving child, either biological or adopted.
But this is except when they have a child who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from a life-threatening disorder with no permanent cure.
The Bill also has safeguards built in against sex selection of the baby.
The Bill requires all surrogacy clinics to be registered.
Clinics can charge for these services but the surrogate mother cannot be paid.
The national and state surrogacy boards will be the regulating authorities.
What are the changes made?
The Surrogacy Bill was cleared by the Cabinet in 2016.
It was subsequently referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee (Health & Family Welfare) before its passage.
There are changes in the presently-passed Bill from the earlier version.
The earlier version provided for a minimum jail term of 10 years for some offences; the present one sets a maximum of 10 years.
The present Bill -
forbids the surrogate mother to use her own gametes (eggs)
gives her the option to withdraw before the embryo is implanted
puts a condition for obtaining a “certificate of essentiality” by the intending couple
The couple must also provide a 16-month insurance coverage for the surrogate mother including postpartum complications.
The Bill did not make several changes sought by the Standing Committee.
What are the rejected recommendations?
The Supreme Court had recognised live-in relationships.
Citing this, the Committee had recommended that the government broadbase the eligibility criteria for surrogacy.
It called for widening the ambit of persons who can avail surrogacy services by including live-in couples, divorced women/widows.
It had also countered the “altruistic surrogacy for married couples” argument.
It thus recommended that compensation be the norm and the word altruistic should be replaced with compensated.
