Surrogate baby to soon get ID paper

Deccan Chronicle Service :
By Mohammed Shareef
Running from pillar to post to get clearance to fly home with her seven-week-old baby boy, US national J. Pearllinda Van Buren may finally have something to look forward to.

According to officials, she may soon get an identity certificate for her baby, named Emperor, who was born through surrogacy at a city clinic on December 7. The identity certificate will help Ms Van Buren, 48, fly with her baby to Jamaica, where she is based.
The baby was denied an Indian passport because he is not an Indian national.

What has compounded problems for Ms Van Buren is the fact that her husband, Eric Dalton Green, a Jamaican national and the only person with biological connection to the baby, cannot come to India. Ms Van Buren explained that her husband developed a fear of flying as a child, after his father died in an air crash, and cannot fly out here at any cost.

Now, the RPO has sent the baby’s documents to the ministry of external affairs with a letter explaining the situation and seeking advice on issuing an identity certificate and travel document. As per the Passport Act, a separate application is required for ID certificate for infants.

RPO K. Srikar Reddy said, “We have sent the details to the MEA and are waiting for the ministry’s advice. Ms Van Buren has not submitted (a separate) application for identity certificate for the baby, so we have asked her to submit it.”

According to sources, MEA needed a representation from the boy’s father. Mr Green being abroad would delay the process of issuing the ID certificate, the sources said.

After the couple decided to have a surrogate baby, Ms Van Buren arrived in India with seven samples of her husband’s semen. After trying in Mumbai and Goa, she decided to try for surrogacy in Hyderabad about 18 months ago. The conception was successful with the semen sample at Dr Rama Devi Fertility Clinic.

“I wish things would be cleared soon,” Ms Van Buren said. “I can’t stay here long as my financial situation is worsening.”