Bill stuck, no check on surrogacy business

New Delhi (Indian Express/Abantika Ghosh) : Earlier this month, a 28-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh's Satna gave birth to 10 still-born babies. While multiple pregnancies are not unusual, pregnancies with three or more babies are almost always associated with assisted reproductions. In July, an NGO released findings of a survey that exposed largescale exploitation of surrogate mothers by forcing them to stay away from families in shelter homes, handing them Rs 3-4 lakh for a pregnancy that is actually creating business worth 10 times that amount. Several cities of Gujarat, including Ahmedabad and Anand, have become surrogacy hubs of India.

Lack of coherent guidelines on assisted reproductive techniques and surrogacy have over the years caused suffering and cost several lives, yet a legislation that was to have brought some method to the madness continues to hang fire over, among other things, moral debates about the sexual orientation of parents and their marital status.
Yet another Parliament session has passed by and the Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) Bill 2010 — in the drafting stage for three years now and in the pipleine for a decade — is not even ready to go to the cabinet.

सरोगसी म्हणजे मातृत्वाचाच छळ : राणी बंग

औरंगाबाद (दिव्य मराठी/प्रवीण ब्रह्मपूरकर) :

सरोगसीच्या माध्यमातून मातृत्वाच्या गर्भाशयाचा बाजार मांडला जात आहे. घर भाड्याने द्यावे, तसे गर्भाशय भाड्याने देऊन तीन ते चार वेळा मुलांना जन्म देण्याचा प्रकार म्हणजे मातृत्वाचाच छळ असल्याचे सडेतोड मत सामाजिक कार्यकर्त्या डॉ. राणी बंग यांनी व्यक्त केले.

सामाजिक कार्यकर्त्या डॉ. राणी बंग

एमआयटी महाविद्यालयात आयोजित कार्यक्रमासाठी आल्या असताना त्यांनी सामाजिक विषयांवर ‘दिव्य मराठी’शी चर्चा केली. त्या म्हणाल्या, शाहरुख खानसारख्या अभिनेत्याने दोन मुले असतानाही सरोगसीतून मातृत्व भाड्याने घेतल्यामुळे चुकीचा संदेश गेला. मुंबई, दिल्लीसारख्या शहरांत सरोगसीचा बाजार सुरू आहे. भारतात त्यासाठी कुठलाही कायदा नाही केवळ गाइडलाइन आहेत. मात्र, त्या पाळल्या जातात की नाही याची यंत्रणा नाही. त्यामुळे चार-चार वेळा गर्भाशय भाड्याने घेऊन गर्भाशयाचा किळसवाणा बाजार मांडला जात असल्याची टीका त्यांनी केली. सरोगसीपेक्षा मुले दत्तक घेण्याचा पर्याय चांगला असून फक्त दत्तक प्रकिया सुलभ करण्याची गरज त्यांनी व्यक्त केली.

वयात येणार्‍या मुला-मुलींना त्यांच्या प्रश्नांची उत्तरे मिळत नाहीत. त्यामुळे इंटरनेट, ब्ल्यू फिल्मच्या माध्यमातून चुकीचे लैंगिक शिक्षण त्यांना मिळत आहे. परिणामी, अल्पवयीन मुली माता बनण्याचे प्रकार वाढत आहेत. वयात येतानाच्या समस्या, स्वप्नदोष, मुलींचे प्रश्न यावर चर्चाही घरात होत नाही. त्यामुळे लैंगिक शिक्षण देण्याची गरज आहे. त्यासाठी पालकांची शिबिरे व्हावीत. सामाजिक संस्थांच्या माध्यमातून हे शिक्षण देण्याची आवश्यकता आहे. चित्रपटांमध्ये दारू, सिगारेटला प्रतिष्ठा दिली जात असून ही बाब चुकीची असल्याचे मत व्यक्त करत बंग म्हणाल्या, गडचिरोलीसारख्या भागात दारूबंदी आहे. तेथे दारूचे प्रमाण कमी झाले आहे. मात्र, जी काही थोडीफार दारू विक्री होते ती सरकार आणि प्रशासनाच्या अनास्थेमुळे होत आहे.

फेसबुकमुळे कनेक्टिव्हिटी हरवली
फेसबुकमुळे सध्या कनेक्टिव्हिटी हरवत चालली आहे. प्रत्येकाला त्याचे व्यसन लागल्यासारखी स्थिती आहे. फेसबुकवर युवा पिढी वेळ वाया घालवत आहे. फेसबुकपेक्षा ‘फेस द वर्ल्ड’ असा संदेश त्यांनी दिला. आज एकत्रित कुटुंबसंस्थेचा अस्त होत चालल्यामुळे त्याचे सामाजिक परिणाम जाणवत आहेत. तरुणांमध्ये घटस्फोट घेण्याचे प्रमाण वाढले आहे. तडजोड करण्यापेक्षा विवाह मोडीत काढण्याचे प्रकार वाढत असल्याचे बंग म्हणाल्या.

Court rejects plea to choose sex of kids through surrogacy

New Delhi (Soibam Rocky Singh / Hindustan Times) : The Delhi High Court has turned down the appeal of an Australian couple to have sex selective surrogacy in India and said it cannot make exception to the law to accommodate the “desire” of a foreigner to have a “balanced family” comprising a male and a female child.
A division bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justice Manmohan clarified that rules of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, which prohibits child sex determination, applies to both Indian and foreign nationals seeking to conceive a child in the country through surrogacy. 

Surrogacy on the rise in North India

New Delhi (Ashok Kumar/the Hindu) : Sunita (30) is expecting twins in a week’s time. But they are not hers. Sunita is a surrogate mother for a childless aged couple. An illiterate woman earning a meagre Rs.100-Rs.150 per day at a garments factory in neighbouring Gurgaon, Sunita came to know about surrogacy through a ration shop owner in her locality and readily agreed to bear a child in return for money.

Anand in Gujarat has emerged as the surrogacy hub of India. This file photo is carried for illustration purpose only. 

 

Ministries differ on single surrogacy

Chandigarh (Ajay Sura/Times of India) :  It appears the ministry of health and family welfare and the ministry of home affairs (MHA) are not on the same page over the issue of singles opting for surrogacy in the country.
The divergent views came out recently before the Punjab and Haryana high court during the hearing of a plea filed by a Sudanese national against the Indian laws excluding single foreign nationals and unmarried couples from coming to India for purposes of surrogacy on medical visas.

Gaps in surrogacy bill

The Hindu (Aarti Dhar) : Women’s health activists have asked the Centre not to rush into finalising the ‘Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2013’ and, instead, hold wider deliberations with women’s rights organisations, queer rights, human rights and legal rights organisations across the country.

In its response to the Draft Bill, Sama Resource Group for Women and Health, while appreciating the initiative of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) for making efforts to regulate the booming Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) industry, including commercial surrogacy, in the country, has said though the Bill acknowledges the importance and significance of ethical practices in the context of ART services, in the present form, it is inadequate in protecting and safeguarding the rights and health of women going for IVF techniques, recruited as surrogates and children born through commercial surrogacy.   

It also lacks setting the standards for medical practice and completely ignores the regulation of the third party agents who play pivotal role in arranging surrogates such as surrogacy agents, tourism operators and surrogacy home operators. 

“The Draft Bill should effectively regulate and monitor consultancies, surrogacy agents, surrogacy home operators, private agencies and travel/tourism firms, law firms involved in offering and promoting ART and surrogacy services.” 

Surrogacy stakeholders draw up guidelines

AHMEDABAD (Radha Sharma/Times of India) : Most of the women driving multimillion-dollar surrogacy industry in India by renting out their wombs to childless couples do so to beat poverty. Often, they are exploited by agents and even risk their lives.

While there is no legal framework enacted - the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, years after it was drafted, is yet to be passed - a handful of stakeholders have formed a society to assure surrogates get basic remuneration, compensation in medical crises and, most importantly, respect for carrying somebody's child for nine months and delivering happinessThe first-ever Indian Society for Third-Party Assisted Reproduction (INSTAR) has now been formed. Infertility experts, lawyers, embryologists and social workers from 15 states including Gujarat have joined hands to enforce self-imposed moral and ethical guidelines for the welfare of surrogates in India.

Surrogacy becomes family enterprise in Gujarat

Ahmedabad (Bharat Yagnik / Times of India) : While debates rage across the world over the exploitation of women who become surrogates in India, many daughters in the state are following in the footsteps of their mothers to rent their wombs and deliver themselves from poverty.
Renuka (23) recently delivered a boy for an Indian-American childless couple. Married at the age of 18, her in-laws never took her back after she delivered a child. She was staring at a life of being a domestic maid.

Rules tightened for foreigners commissioning surrogacy

The Union Home Ministry will withdraw the relaxation on its guidelines for foreign nationals intending to visit India for commissioning surrogacy by this month-end.

NEW DELHI (Shemin Joy/Deccan Herald) : The ministry has written to all the Indian embassies that they should adhere to the guidelines and should not offer any concession from November 1 as the relaxations in the guidelines are ending on October 31. Embassies should not grant visa to couples if they do not fulfil all the conditions, a senior official said.

The guidelines for foreigners planning surrogacy in India came up in July last year following allegations that those from abroad were cheating surrogate mothers. There were also reports that the children were ill-treated in foreign land and that they were not treated as citizens there.

According to the guidelines, only those foreign couples who are married for two years could apply for visa for commissioning surrogacy. It was also emphasised that many were coming on tourist visa for this purpose though it was not the appropriate visa category.

It said those not coming on medical visa will be liable for action for violation of visa conditions. It will also be necessary in such cases to ensure that the surrogate mother is not cheated.

Along with visa applications, the guidelines said, a letter from the Embassy of the foreign country in India or the Foreign Ministry of the country should be enclosed.

It should clearly state that the country recognises surrogacy and the child to be born to the couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as their biological child.

The treatment should be done only at the registered ART clinics recognised by Indian Council of Medical Research. The couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between them and the prospective Indian surrogate mother.

Source : http://www.deccanherald.com/content/362823/rules-tightened-foreigners-commissioning-surrogacy.html

Foreigners need proof of citizenship for surrogacy

New Delhi (Deccan Herald) : If the Surrogacy Bill being drafted by the government is passed by Parliament, any foreign couple seeking a child to be born through surrogacy in India will have to first obtain a guarantee that the government of the country they reside in would allow them to take home the newborn.

The proposed legislation now being vetted by several ministries of the union government will make it mandatory for any foreign couple commissioning a surrogacy to obtain a written assurance from the government of the country of their residence or from that country’s embassy in India that the baby to be born would be permitted entry to their country as their biological child.

According to the draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, the couple will also have to furnish a certificate from the government of their country elucidating that it recognises surrogacy. The bill is being drafted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice.

The move is to ensure the citizenship of the child to be born through surrogacy is intended to pre-empt legal complications after the birth of the baby. The need to legally ensure the child’s citizenship in the country his or her biological parents reside in was felt after the harrowing experience that a German couple and their twins born to a surrogate mother in India went through between 2008 and 2010.

Jan Balaz and Susan Anna Lohla had to fight a protracted legal battle as German Embassy in New Delhi refused to issue passports to their twins, Nikolas and Leonard, who were born to an Indian surrogate mother in Gujarat in January 2008. The embassy pointed out that German laws did not recognize surrogacy as a means of parenthood.

WCD ministry suggests cash aid for surrogates

Source : Deccan Chronicle

New Delhi (Deccan Chronicle) : Considering the health risks that a surrogate entails, the women and child development ministry said that the proposed Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2013 should “incorporate provisions of compensation to the surrogate and her family in cases of any health complications or death.”
Also, the ministry said that there should be some provision in case the child born with any deficiency needs to be with the surrogate mother till it is handed over to the surrogate parents.

Centre plan: Surrogacy for all; Women’s wing wants the term ‘couple’ redefined

New Delhi (Deccan Chronicle | Teena Thacker) : The Union women and child development ministry has proposed that the health ministry allow surrogacy to everyone, including unmarried couples and those in live-in relationships.
In its comments on the proposed Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2013, the ministry has opined that the health ministry’s definition of ‘couple’ is narrow. The WCD wants the definition of “couple to include everyone who wants to avail ARTs and surrogacy, irrespective of marriage”.
Contrary to the health ministry’s draft Bill — that says that no woman shall act as surrogate for more than three successful births including their own children — the women and child development ministry has proposed to extend the same provision to four births (live and still births), including her own children with not less than a two-year interval between two deliveries.
The WCD is also of the view that women above 21 years of age with conditions like height below 140 cm, women with low Body Mass Index (BMI) and with high-risk conditions like cardio-vascular diseases, thyroid problems should be excluded.

Why can't surrogate mothers bond with child, asks plan panel

Planning Commission questions clause of draft ART Bill against breastfeeding

New Delhi (DNA/ Priyanka Sahay) : At which point does a surrogate mother relinquish her right over her baby? Expressing its annoyance with the health ministry’s recently proposed draft of the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Bill, the Planning Commission has taken up with it the question of whether a surrogate mother does not have the right to breastfeed a baby after she delivers her.
The long-awaited draft ART (Regulation) Bill and Rules 2010 says a surrogate mother will have to relinquish all parental rights over the child. “In surrogacy, there is no breastfeeding as the couples usually do not want the child to bond with the surrogate mother after the delivery. But what happens to the rights of the mother thereafter? How are we going to reconcile with such questions?” asked commission member Sayeda Hameed. “What happens to the Janini Suraksha Yojna (JSY)? What about the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)?”

Infertility on the Rise

India Today Editor-in-Chief Aroon Purie on surrogacy

This week, the magazine gives you a break from the hurly-burly of politics which seems more of the same-the disruptions in Parliament, the careening economy, the tumbling rupee, the electoral posturing and sop-giving. We tell a very human story up close and personal from the bustling town of Anand. A town, halfway between Ahmedabad and Vadodara in the heart of central Gujarat, which has long been synonymous with India's cooperative milk industry. It houses the head office of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, whose brand Amul sparked the White Revolution and continues to give India some of its most creative advertising through a chubby little 'butter girl' in a polka-dotted dress.

But Anand is now home to a different kind of cooperative cottage industry. It is fast emerging as an international destination for surrogate babies, and has so far provided childless parents from India and 34 other countries a chance to fulfil their aspirations. On August 5, a 28-year-old woman, now known as Surrogate No. 500, gave birth to a baby girl at Anand's Sat Kaival Hospital and Akanksha Infertility Clinic, inadvertently becoming a milestone that has come to define what the surrogacy boom is doing for women from the region. A single mother of two sons aged five and three, she earned Rs.2,000 a month doing housework. Being a surrogate for a couple from Lucknow has given her Rs.3 lakh now. "I can build my own house now," she says. Anand houses several others like her.

India’s draft surrogacy Bill bars homosexuals, live-in couples

New Delhi (Vidya Krishnan/Mint) : India’s long-awaited surrogacy Bill will disqualify homosexual couples, foreign single individuals and couples in live-in relationships from having children through surrogate mothers in India. The law also imposes age restrictions on surrogate mothers.

Critics said the strict norms of the proposed ART Bill will see the activity moving to more conducive destinations such as Thailand. Surrogacy is a method of reproduction where a woman—the surrogate—agrees to carry a pregnancy to term for a fee.

In January, the home ministry had barred homosexuals and foreign single individuals.

“I do not understand why the law has to be discriminatory towards unmarried foreigners when unmarried Indians are allowed this facility,” said Ritu Bakshi, chairperson of the International Fertility Centre in Delhi.

“It is fair to expect that surrogacy should be allowed in the country of the commissioning couple because citizenship of the child becomes an issue otherwise. Other than this, many restrictions imposed are not encouraging for business. A majority of our clients are from foreign countries. To expect this sector to not have commercial interest is naïve. Surrogacy is very expensive across the world,” she added.

No surrogacy for foreigners: tough new rules planned

New Delhi (Abantika Ghosh/India Express) : The directorate general of health services (DGHS) has proposed that the option of surrogacy should be available only to married, infertile couples of Indian origin.
The suggestions forwarded by DGHS Dr Jagdish Prasad to the department of health research rule out surrogacy options for foreigners, unless they are married to a person of Indian origin. The suggestions also say that a woman may become a surrogate mother only once in her lifetime.
The health ministry, which is engaged in a tussle with the Planning Commission on NGO consultations over a law to regulate the "infertility" industry, has circulated a cabinet note on the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Bill. The DGHS is an arm of the ministry.

Surrogacy act gives birth to a debate

Mumbai (DNA/Santosh Andhale) : While a top Bollywood actor rumoured to be having his third child through a surrogate has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, senior doctors and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) specialists are once again hotly debating whether surrogacy should be available only to those couples who cannot bear a child in any other way or to anybody who can afford it.

In the absence of clear regulation, they all agree, surrogacy is a currently unchecked and unsupervised industry with no law to fall back on if anything goes wrong during the treatment. Whether couples already blessed with kids should opt for a surrogate is also being debated. “Surrogacy is an option for those couples where pregnancy could be dangerous for the woman or if she has a medical problem such as multiple miscarriages,” said Dr Ameet Patki, a senior IVF expert based in Khar. That’s the only condition on which he recommends surrogacy, he added,” Dr Patki added.

Truth is bitter, realise NRI couple

Chennai (The Hindu) : Inadvertent admission about surrogacy of their child has US Consulate authorities cancelling passport, while they are left desperately seeking DNA report

An NRI couple from the United States landed themselves in trouble when their child’s passport was cancelled. The U.S. Consulate had revoked the passport after learning that the child was born to a surrogate mother from India.

The couple — the husband carries an Indian passport while the mother and child are having U.S. passports — came to India en route to another foreign country and had approached the US Consulate for the visa details.

The Consulate annulled the passport once the couple inadvertently confessed about the son’s birth origin. It directed the couple to once again apply for an Indian passport for issuing the visa. The couple then approached the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Secunderabad.

गर्भाशय भाड्याने देण्यात महाराष्ट्र आघाडीवर

मुंबई(सकाळ वृत्तसेवा): मूल न होऊ शकणाऱ्यांना गर्भाशय भाड्याने देऊन अपत्यसुख देण्यात महाराष्ट्र अग्रेसर आहे. त्याखालोखाल गुजरात, आंध्र प्रदेश आणि दिल्लीचा क्रमांक लागत असल्याचे सरोगसीसाठी (भाडोत्री मातृत्वासाठी) नोंदविण्यात आलेल्या अधिकृत नोंदणी संकेतस्थळांवरील आकडेवारीवरून स्पष्ट होत आहे. 

सरोगसी फाईंडर, सरोगसी फॉर कपल, सरोगेट अ ब्लेसिंग, ड्रीम सरोगसी नावाच्या विविध संकेतस्थळांवर भाड्याने गर्भाशय देण्यासाठी उत्सुक असणाऱ्या मुली, तसेच स्त्रियांची नोंदणी केली जाते. जगातील विविध देश, तसेच या देशांतील विविध प्रदेशांतून स्त्रियांची नोंद येथे होत असते. या संकेतस्थळांमध्ये भाडोत्री मातृत्वासाठी सर्वाधिक मागणी - पुरवठ्याचे सूत्र "सरोगसी फाईंडर' वर पूर्ण केले जाते. अफगाणिस्तानपासून इस्राईलपर्यंत, भारतापासून लंडनपर्यंत प्रत्येक देशातल्या अपत्य नसणाऱ्यांसाठी भाड्याने गर्भाशय देणाऱ्या स्त्रियांची नोंद येथे केली जाते. येथे सरोगसीसाठी कार्यरत असणाऱ्या एजन्सी, तसेच रुग्णालयांचीही विस्तृत माहिती देण्यात आली आहे. येथे भाडोत्री मातृत्व हे केवळ विवाहित वा एकत्र राहणाऱ्या जोडप्यांसाठी नसून "सिंगल्स', विभिन्न लैंगिकता असणारे स्त्री-पुरुष यांनाही या पद्धतीने बाळ घेता येते. 

India's shame story

Israeli paedophile adopts girl through surrogate mother

New Delhi (DNA/Manan kumar & Ritika Chopra) : Israeli paedophile, who has served a year-and-a-half in jail for sexually abusing children, managed to adopt a four-year-old girl through an arrangement with a surrogate mother in India. Though it paints an embarrassing picture of the regulation of surrogacy in India, the government is unaware about the development and refused to act till Friday. 

Women and child development minister Krishna Tirath feigned ignorance when dna called her. “I have not seen the story and so I don’t want to comment. You should get in touch with my information officer,” she said. There was no official response from the home ministry either, but officials said the government will not be able to intervene as the child, in all probability, is an Israeli citizen. The onus, therefore, is on Israel to take action against the man.

The case came to light after NGO Israel National Council for the Child (NCC) received a tip-off. Further investigation revealed that the Israeli national is a convicted paedophile.

Govt set to allow visas to singles too for surrogacy

(Rahul Tripathi/Indian Express):Easing the surrogacy norms for foreigners, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has proposed that besides married couples, individuals — whether male or female — should also be allowed visas for the purpose. The current law allows only married couples to apply for visas on this ground.

However, foreign nationals will have to obtain medical visas for the purpose of surrogacy. They cannot use tourist visas."The new rules will, however, continue to bar gay or lesbian couples from hiring surrogate mothers in India. But one of the partners, either male or female, can get a medical visa. They can visit India for a period of one year, which can be extended by another six months," said a senior official. Couples have to be married for at least two years before qualifying for such visas.

At the time of seeking their "exit permit" from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), all foreign nationals who take surrogate children from India will have to undergo DNA tests. "It is important to establish a genetic link through the DNA test," says the ministry's draft proposal.

The amendments are likely to be cleared after Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde returns from the US.

The MHA has also proposed that such foreigners should submit an undertaking at the Indian embassy or mission in their respective countries stating that the surrogate child born in India will be granted nationality of that country.

"To provide proper care and safety of the baby born from surrogacy and fair treatment to the mother, we have suggested a few amendments at the time of granting visas. The hospitals or clinics where such surrogacy is being performed must be recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)," said a top MHA official.

The foreign applicants will also be required to submit a letter from the embassy of their country in India or their foreign minister stating that the country recognises surrogacy and the child to be born through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry to their country as a biological child of the couple or individual commissioning the surrogacy. They must also furnish an undertaking stating that they will take care of the child.

गर्भाशय भाड्याने देणे आहे!

मुंबई(शर्मिला कलगुटकर/सकाळ वृत्तसेवा):जगातील इतर सर्व देशांच्या तुलनेत भारतात, त्यातही मुंबईत भाडोत्री मातृत्वासाठी द्यावी लागणारी किंमत ही सर्वात कमी आहे. त्यामुळे परदेशी जोडप्यांची वाढती मागणी आणि आस लक्षात घेऊन फलित झालेले बीज कुरियरने पाठविण्याची सुविधाही दलालांनी आता सुरू केली आहे! यापूर्वी डॉक्‍टर, गर्भाशय भाड्याने देणारी महिला आणि संबंधित जोडप्यांची चर्चा आणि त्यानंतर पैशाच्या देवाणघेवाणीसंदर्भातील विस्तृत करार केला जात असे. हा पायंडा मोडीत काढून आता कुरियरने आलेल्या बीजांचे रोपण तुलनेने कमी किमतीमध्ये या महिलांच्या भाड्याने घेतलेल्या गर्भाशयात केले जाते.

गरीब महिलेच्या गर्भाशयात बीज सोडल्यानंतर एकाऐवजी दोन, तीन वा चार बाळे राहिली, तर तिला रक्कम किती मिळणार, प्रसूतीच्या वेळी जर ती दगावली, तर तिच्या कुटुंबाचे, मुलांचे काय होणार, तिला विमाकवच मिळणार की नाही, अशा अनेक प्रश्‍नांची उत्तरे प्रत्यक्ष चर्चाच होत नसल्याने अनुत्तरित राहत आहेत.धारावी, दिंडोशी, मालाड, वांद्रे, बोरिवली, दहिसर, उल्हासनगर, मुंब्रा, कुर्ला अशा मुंबईच्या कानाकोपऱ्यातील गरीब महिला प्रत्येक आयव्ही केंद्राशी निगडित असणाऱ्या दलालांशी जोडलेल्या असतात. भारतातील जातीव्यवस्थेचा पगडा लक्षात घेता भाडोत्री मातेची जात-धर्म, भाषा, राहणी, उच्चार अशा प्रत्येक गोष्टींची सूक्ष्म नोंद घेऊन अशा महिलांची निवड करण्याकडे मुंबई, गुजरात, अहमदाबाद, दिल्ली अशा शहरांतील जोडप्यांचा कल असतो; मात्र परदेशी जोडप्यांचा असा अट्टहास नसतो. भारतातील सरोगसीसंदर्भातील कायदे आणि आर्थिक व्यवहार हा अन्य देशांच्या तुलनेत फारच लवचिक असल्याने मुंबईच्या झोपडपट्ट्यांमधील महिलांना त्यांची पहिली पसंती असते.

मुंबई सरोगसी या एजन्सीने भारतात येण्यासाठी वेळ नसणाऱ्या परदेशी मंडळींसाठी "रोटुंडा - क्रोशिपर सुविधा' सुरू केली आहे. ज्याद्वारे फलन झालेले बीज डीएएल इम्पोर्ट-एक्‍स्पोर्ट सुविधेच्या माध्यमातून मुंबई सरोगसीशी संबंधित असणाऱ्या फलन प्रयोगशाळेत चोवीस तासांच्या आत पाठविता येते. शुक्राणू आणि वीर्याचे हे नमुने एअरपोर्टवरील कोणत्याही "क्ष' किरणाच्या कक्षेत येणार नाहीत, याची संपूर्ण दक्षता घेतली जाते. जर ते या किरणांच्या संपर्कात आले, तर त्यातील बीजफलनांची शक्‍यता त्याचक्षणी संपुष्टात येते. कोणत्याही देशातील "क्‍लाएन्ट'कडून मुंबई सरोगसीच्या प्रयोगशाळेत हा "नमुना' आणण्याची किंमत पन्नास हजार ते एक लाख रुपयांच्या घरात असते. अधिकाधिक परदेशी जोडप्यांना आकर्षित करण्यासाठी ही पद्धती आता सर्रास रूढ होऊ लागली असली, तरीही वैद्यकक्षेत्रातील तज्ज्ञ त्यातील धोका स्पष्ट करतात.

वंध्यत्वनिवारणतज्ज्ञ डॉ. सुभद्र रेगे यांच्या मते, सरोगसी पद्धतीने बाळ हवे असणाऱ्या जोडप्याने प्रत्यक्ष वंध्यत्वनिवारण केंद्रात राहणे अत्यावश्‍यक असते. किमान पंधरा दिवसांचा काळ त्यासाठी बंधनकारक असतो. आवश्‍यक त्या वैद्यकीय चाचण्या, निर्दोष बीजाची निर्मिती आणि फलनासाठी लागणारी वैद्यकीय प्रक्रिया हे अत्यंत महत्त्वाचे टप्पे आहेत. कुरियर सेवेने आलेले हे "रेडिमेड' बीज भाडोत्री महिलेच्या गर्भाशयात सोडल्यानंतर जर ते दुर्बल असेल, तर त्यास तारण्यासाठी औषधांचा, इंजेक्‍शन्सचा मारा त्या महिलेच्या शरीरावर होतो, जे त्या महिलेच्या आरोग्यासाठी हिताचे नसते.

गर्भाशय भाड्याने देणाऱ्या महिलांना दशकभरापूर्वी असणारा भाव आता ओसरला आहे. यापूर्वी दोन ते तीन लाख रुपये देण्यात येत असत. आता तीच रक्कम 75 हजार ते एक लाख रुपयांच्या घरात आली आहे. गरोदर राहण्यापूर्वीपासून तिचा आहार, विश्रांती, औषधे यांच्याबाबत दक्ष असणारी आयव्ही केंद्रे प्रसूती झाल्यानंतर औषधांमुळे तिच्या शरीरावर होणाऱ्या परिणामांची तसूभरही काळजी घेत नाहीत. भारतात भाडोत्री मातृत्वास कायदेशीर मान्यता असली, तरीही त्याबद्दल इंडियन कौन्सिल फॉर मेडिकल रिसर्चने वैद्यकीय नियमावली बनविली आहे. तिचे पालन होताना दिसत नाही.

आयव्हीएफमधील तज्ज्ञ डॉ. श्रेयस दोंडे म्हणतात, "मध्यमवर्गातील महिला आपल्या स्थिर-सुखी कुटुंबाची अडचण करून हे पवित्र कार्य करायला तयार होत नाहीत, अशा वेळी गरीब महिलांना पैसे मिळत असतील, तर त्यात कुणाचे काय जाते? डॉ. दोंडेंसारखेच समर्थन या क्षेत्रातील अनेक तज्ज्ञमंडळी वारंवार करीत असतात. मुलासाठी गर्भाशय भाड्याने देणाऱ्या गरीब महिला सलग तीन ते चार वेळा या पद्धतीने मुलांना जन्म देतात, तेव्हा त्यांना ही जीवावरची जोखीम असते हे डॉक्‍टर का बरे सांगत नाहीत, असाही प्रश्‍न पडतो.

Surrogate parent agency owner sentenced for fraud

FRESNO, Calif : The owner of a surrogate parenting agency was sentenced Monday to prison for a fraud scheme carried out through her Central California-based operation, a prosecutor said.
Tonya Ann Collins - the owner of Surrogenesis USA Inc. in Modesto - was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said.
The sentencing came after Collins, 37, agreed to a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in February to four counts of wire fraud.
The government said Collins took money from prospective parents and used it for personal expenses, including automobiles, homes, jewelry, clothing and vacations, between November 2006 and March 2009.
Collins held client funds in another company she owned called Michal Charles Independent Financial Holding Group, which she said was an unrelated escrow company that would hold clients' money and pay expenses associated with the surrogacy process, authorities said.
Collins concealed her ownership and operation of the escrow company, prosecutors say, creating fictitious employee identities to make it appear that Michael Charles was an independent company with its own staff.
As a result, Collins' clients, surrogates and other businesses suffered losses of more than $2.4 million. In some cases, the fraud permanently foreclosed victims' ability to proceed with a surrogate pregnancy, prosecutors said.
Collins will have to report to prison on June. 27. As part of her sentencing, she will also have to pay restitution to victims.

(Source : http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/13/5417474/surrogate-parent-agency-owner.html)

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/13/5417474/surrogate-parent-agency-owner.html#storylink=cpy

Single foreigners may get surrogacy option

Aloke Tikku/Hindustan Times (New Delhi) :The Indian government has decided to revisit the home ministry ban on unmarried foreigners from entering the country to commission surrogate babies.

The home ministry had last July introduced a condition that entitled only heterosexual couples — married for at least two years — to get a medical visa for travel to India to commission surrogates.
The restriction was placed after instances of Germany and Japan refusing to give citizenship to infants born to surrogate mothers in India.

But the new rules — that also required the foreign government to promise to give such babies citizenship — barred single and gay foreigners from commissioning surrogacy. 

“We are reconsidering the decision with respect to foreigners who are single,” a senior government official told HT.
Dr Anoop Gupta at the Delhi IVF & Fertility Research Centre said the relaxation would come as a big relief. “This is a very positive development,” he said, since, once the relaxation is notified, it would benefit foreigners who are gay too.
The visa restriction had hit gay couples hard, who were hoping to start a family.

Back home, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) — that doubles up as the department of medical research — too had opposed the visa restriction. “If they can be trusted with an Indian child, they can certainly be trusted with their own,” an ICMR official had argued earlier.

लिव-इन व सरोगेसी को संरक्षण देगी मध्य प्रदेश सरकार

भोपाल (हरीश दिवेकर) : लिव-इन-रिलेशनशिप की प्रासंगिकता पर उठते सवालों के बीच मध्य प्रदेश की शिवराज सरकार लिव-इन संबंधों को संरक्षण देने के लिए कानूनी प्रावधान करने जा रही है। प्रदेश की नई महिला नीति-2013 के प्रस्तावित मसौदे में लिव-इन-संबंधों को संरक्षण देने का प्रावधान है। इसमें सरोगेट मदर और बच्चे के अधिकार और संरक्षण की बात भी कही गई है। हालांकि अभी इसे अंतिम रूप दिया जाना बाकी है।
गौरतलब है कि सर्वोच्च न्यायालय भी शादी पूर्व यौन संबंधों और लिव-इन-रिलेशनशिप पर अपनी मुहर लगा चुका है।
प्रशासनिक अकादमी की महानिदेशक आभा अस्थाना की अध्यक्षता में नई महिला नीति को लेकर 39 पेज का प्रारूप तैयार किया गया है। इसमें ग्रामीण महिलाओं के अधिकारों के संरक्षण के लिए वर्ष में एक बार प्रत्येक ग्राम पंचायत में महिला पंचायत करने और इसके फैसलों का कड़ाई से पालन कराने का प्रावधान है। मसौदे में महिलाओं को सरकारी नौकरी में 30 फीसद आरक्षण की बात कही गई है।
यह महिला नीति 2017 तक वैध रहेगी। मसौदे में महिलाओं एवं बालिकाओं के संरक्षण, सुरक्षा एवं उनके विकास के लिए 15 बिंदुओं पर फोकस है। राजनीति में भी समान अधिकार सुनिश्चित करने को कहा गया है। 73-74 वें संविधान संशोधन का हवाला देते हुए कहा गया है कि पंचायत संस्थाओं एवं नगरीय निकायों में महिलाओं की 50 प्रतिशत भागीदारी सुनिश्चित की जाए। प्रारूप में ऑनर किलिंग के मामले में कड़े दंड के प्रावधान की सिफारिश की गई है।
प्रस्तावित प्रारूप में राजनीतिक व सामाजिक क्षेत्रों में महिलाओं के प्रति शिष्ट संवादों के लिए जवाबदेही की बात कही गई है। हाल ही में मध्य प्रदेश के कई नेताओं ने ऐसे भाषण दिए जिन्हें महिलाओं के प्रति अपमानजनक माना गया। ऐसे ही एक मामले में मंत्री विजय शाह का इस्तीफा भी हो चुका है।

स्त्रोत : जागरण  संकेतस्थळ

Changes in Surrogacy Laws

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO 3174

ANSWERED ON 23.04.2013

Changes in surrogacy laws

3174	SHRI T.K. RANGARAJAN
Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) whether changes have been proposed in the surrogacy laws; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the date from which the changes will come into effect; and (d) whether the changes will affect surrogacy arrangements made by surrogate mothers who conceived before the proposed changes?
ANSWER
ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ABU HASEM KHAN CHOUDHURY) (a) to (d) There is no surrogacy law in the country. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued two notifications vide their letters No. F. No. 25022/74/2011-F.I dated 9th July, 2012 and 7th March, 2013. The Ministry of External Affairs has been requested to issue the medical visa instead of Tourist Visa to the foreign nationals visiting India for commissioning surrogacy vide order dated 7.03.2013. Keeping in view the humanitarian issues involved, directives have been issued that in cases, where the child/children has already been born through commissioning of surrogacy or the birth of the child/children is/are expected shortly, the Indian Missions/Posts may consider grant of medical Visa(up to 3 months) to foreign nationals involved in such cases on production of a letter from the ART clinic concerned certifying the status of the child/children i.e. whether actually born and kept in the hospital/clinic or if not born, the expected date of delivery of the child/children.

सरोगसीसाठी भारतीय स्त्रिया आघाडीवर!

मुंबई : अप्रजननक्षम जोडप्यांसाठी भारत हे आवडत ठिकाण झालंय. कारण आहे, सरोगसी गर्भ उपलब्ध करणाऱ्या स्त्रियांच्या संख्येत भारतात झालेली वाढ आहे. सरोगसीमध्ये मिळणाऱ्या झटपट पैश्यांमुळे यासाठी स्त्रियाही पुढे येत आहेत,असं तज्ञांच मत आहे. पण कायद्यातील त्रुटीमूळे प्रजनन आणि सेरोगसी केंद्र ह्या संधीचा फायदा उठवत आहेत. झटपट पैसे मिळत असले तरी, सरोगसीचे काही धोके ही आहेत. सरोगसित स्त्रियांना देण्यात येणाऱ्या संप्रेरकांच्या इंजेक्शन्समूळे, स्त्रियांमध्ये ओव्हेरियन हायपरस्टीम्युलेशन सिंड्रोमचा धोका ही वाढतोय, असं डॉक्टर सांगतात. त्यामुळे रक्ताच्या गाठी होणे आणि किडनी फेल्युअर असे रोग होऊ शकतात. 

सरोगसी करणाऱ्यांना शारीरिक अंगगुणांवरून ४०.००० ते १.५ लाख दरम्यान पैसे मिळतात. सरोगसीसाठी गौर वर्ण, घारे डोळे, उच्च जात असणाऱ्या स्त्रियांना जास्त मागणी आहे. तसच वकील आणि व्यवस्थापन पदवीधर अश्या सुशिक्षित स्त्रियांना ही मागणी असते. असं सरोगसीसंबंधी पोर्टल चालवणाऱ्या संस्थापकाने सांगितलं. हे पोर्टल अप्रजननक्षम जोडप्यांना सरोगेट मातांना शोधण्यात मदत करते. या पोर्टलने २०११ वर्षात ३५ सरोगसीमातांची सोय करून दिली आणि यावर्षी त्यांनी २० अप्रजननक्षम जोडप्यांना मदत केली असून, अशी अजून २० त्यांच्या मदतीने होण्याची शक्यता आहे.
कुलाबा येथील एका प्रजनन केंद्राने आपल्या येथील सरोगसीची संख्या ही गेल्या सहा महिन्यात १० वरून २० एवढी वाढ झाल्याच सांगितलं.”सरोगसीविषयी वाढलेल्या जागरूकतेचा हा परिणाम आहे.” असं या केंद्राच्या डॉक्टर्सच म्हणण आहे.
पुरुषांमधील बीजदान विषयावर काही महिन्यांपूर्वी ‘विकी डोनर’ नावाचा सिनेमा ही आला होता. बॉलीवूड चित्रपटामूळे समाजात नक्कीच जागरूकता निर्माण होत असते, असं दिसून येत. मात्र असं असलं तरी, बीजदान आणि सरोगसीसंबंधातील कायद्यातील त्रुटी दूर करून ते योग्यरित्या लागू केले पाहिजेत. तरच बीजदान आणि सरोगेट मातांना योग्य फीज आणि अप्रजननक्षम जोडप्यांना योग्य बीजदाते मिळू शकतील.
(स्त्रोत : जय महाराष्ट्र न्यूज)

Surrogacy 'leading to exploitation' of poor Indian women: Report

Washington (ANI) : Foreign couples hiring Indian surrogates is an unregulated industry that is completely dependent on vulnerable women, a report has said.

For many couples, the only hope to create a child of their own is to fertilize an egg in a test-tube and implant it in a surrogate.Indian clinics do that for a fraction of the usual cost.
The procedure in which doctors implant an embryo into the womb of a surrogate mother is a delicate operation. If all goes well, in nine months time, the surrogate will deliver a baby for a childless couple.

But the country's baby business has critics, like Dr. Ranjana Kumari.According to CBS News, Dr. Kumari argues that there so many Indian women who want to do this because the country has so many poor women. There are so many women who don't want to see their own child dying out of bad health, or not getting educated, not getting two meals a day. So that's why so many women are available, she added.Dr. Ranjana Kumari pointed out that the industry needs to be regulated.

According to the report, the stressed that the vulnerability of poverty is being exploited in this whole system, and it should be banned. The report pointed out that there are some clinics in India that give the surrogate mothers life insurance and medical care, even after the baby is born.But other clinics don't provide this care. Their primary concern is the baby because that's where they make their money.

Why India’s illegal surrogate industry needs to be regulated

(By Health.India.com) : Sir Robert Edwards – the father of the In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)who passed away two days ago would never have imagined the worldwide repercussions of his invention. While IVF has given children to thousands who never thought they would have children, it has also exploited thousands of women in poor countries who’ve been forced to be surrogate mothers because of their poor financial situation.
Couples from Edwards’ native Britain along with Americans are coming in droves to India to hire women as surrogate mothers. Indian clinics offer them services at a fraction of what it costs in the UK or the USA and due to this India have been unofficially christened the Surrogacy Capital of the World It’s estimated this illegal industry is worth Rs 13033 crore. And it’s an industry which is dependent on vulnerable, financially-poor women.

उसन्या मातृत्वाचा’ काळाबाजार!

राज्यात ८0 टक्के सरोगसीची प्रकरणे बेकायदा

दीपा पिल्ले (लोकमत/पुणे) : केरळ येथील एका जोडप्याला मूल नव्हते, त्यांनी सरोगेट मदरच्या (भाडोत्री मातृत्व) मदतीने मुलाला जन्म देण्याचा निर्णय घेतला. यासाठी त्यांनी पुण्यातील एका संस्थेशी संपर्क साधला. संस्थेकडून त्यांना एका १९ वर्षांच्या श्यामला (नाव बदलले आहे) या युवतीचा संदर्भ दिला गेला. ही मुलगी अविवाहित होती आणि पुण्यातील एका झोपडपट्टीत राहत होती. तिला पैशांची गरज होती आणि त्या जोडप्याला मुलाची. अवघ्या दीड लाख रुपयांत व्यवहार ठरला. पण हा व्यवहार कायद्याच्या सर्व चौकटी मोडून ठरविण्यात आला होता.

घरची हलाखीची परिस्थिती, पैशांची गरज या कारणामुळे सरोगसीचा काळाबाजार महाराष्ट्रात सुरू झाला आहे. कायद्यानुसार सरोगेट मदर विवाहित असणे आणि तिला स्वत:चे एक मूल असणे बंधनकारक आहे. संबंधित महिला सरोगसीसाठी शारीरिक आणि मानसिकदृष्ट्या सक्षम असणे, जन्मानंतर त्या बाळाला जन्मदात्या आईकडे किमान तीन महिने तरी राहू देणे कायद्याने बंधनकारक आहे. पण राज्यात मात्र राजरोसपणे या कायद्याचा भंग होत असल्याचे चित्र आहे.

Govt proposes to bring Bill to regulate surrogacy: Azad

New Delhi (Economic Times) : The government today said it proposes to bring a Bill to monitor the services of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics and banks to regulate surrogacy in the country.

"A draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill has been formulated and sent to Ministry of Law and Justice for concurrence," Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

He said in order to monitor the services of ART clinics and banks to help regulate surrogacy, the Indian Council of Medical Research ( ICMR) has already framed guidelines for accreditation, supervision and regulation of ART clinics and banks.

The Minister said the proposed law will help in effective implementation of the guidelines.

"The Bill describes the procedure for accreditation and supervision of Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinics and Banks," Azad said, adding that such services needed to be ethical.

Government guidelines a wake-up call for Experts

Government issues new guidelines on surrogacy, experts call them backward, unfair

Mumbai (ibllive.in.com / Nikita) : In a big development, the Union Home Ministry has come up with new guidelines which bars foreign gay and lesbian couples from seeking surrogacy services in India. Furthermore, only those couples who have been married for at least two years can apply for babies via surrogacy.
IVF Specialist Dr Anirudh Malpani said, "This is a really a backward step for multiple reasons. If there is an alternative lifestyle, which is a gay lifestyle, why should we say that they are not going to be good parents as compared to, let's say, the traditional heterosexual couples? So I think that's very unfair. Equally important, I think this is discriminatory, in the sense that if you are an Indian gay couple or an Indian single man who wants to have an surrogacy child you allow him to do that."

Woman having child through surrogacy entitled for maternity leave: HC

Chennai (DNA) : In a significant order, the Madras High Court has held that a woman who had a child through surrogacy is entitled for maternity leave.

The ruling was given by Justice K Chandru while allowing a petition by a woman employee of the Chennai Port Trust (CPT) seeking to quash an order of the management rejecting her plea for maternity leave in 2011.
"This court do not find anything immoral and unethical about the petitioner having obtained a child through surrogate arrangement," the judge said in his order.

Babies left in limbo over India's amended surrogacy rules

(By Samaylive.com): Recent changes to surrogacy rules in India has sparked concerns amongst Australian couples who are awaiting their babies birth in India. India's amended surrogacy rules ban singles, gay couples and de facto heterosexual couples from commissioning surrogate babies.

The program called 'Babies in Limbo' aired news channel said, Australians would require medical visas and Indian government is precise about issuing them to heterosexual couples who have been married for at least two years.

Surrogacy law expert Jenni Millbank said babies could be left stateless if the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) refuses to issue citizenship to infants created in breach of Indian law.
"I think if this provokes a crisis within DIAC about the issuing of citizenship by descent then we would be facing the prospect of children born in India to Australian parents being stateless, with no Indian citizenship, with no Australian citizenship and without the ability to travel across any international border," he said.

He added that the changes are all about targeting particular people who access surrogacy, rather than assisting surrogates and the way that surrogacy is done. The program quoted a Perth based expectant parent Paul Taylor-Burn who has been waiting with his partner Josh for the birth of their twins in India.
"When we went over there in July, we were under the impression that everything was absolutely fine. You [could] enter into this as a gay man with absolutely no restrictions on what we were doing," Taylor-Burn said. He said, "we know that we don't meet the new criteria.Our contracts have been signed after the cut-off date, but we don't really know what's going to happen."

"I think the biggest worry is really: what's going to happen when we get there? Are the babies going to actually get their visas to exit the country? What can happen? Is there any possibility of the babies not being able to leave? Are we potentially going to be prosecuted?" he said.

Nearly 400 babies are said to be born to Australians using Indian surrogates in 2011 and a positive DNA test is all the Australian High Commission requires to issue citizenship by descent. However, the sudden amendments to the visa requirements would leave dozens of expectant parents currently awaiting their babies' births in breach of Indian law. Surrogacy Australia has estimated that on average 50 babies are born to Australian expats in India each year and the surge in births of babies who then gain Australian citizenship is due to rising use of Indian surrogates by Australians. The number of couples seeking to surrogate in India could be higher however, Immigration Department statistics has revealed that number of babies being born to Australian citizens in India rose from 170 in 2008 to 400 in 2011.

सरोगसी अधिनियम २०११ : तज्ज्ञ समितीची स्थापना

आमदार देवेंद्र फडणवीस यांनी शुक्रवार १३ जुलै, २०१२ रोजी पावसाळी अधिवेशना दरम्यान विधान सभेत महाराष्ट्र साहाय्यक प्रजनन तंत्रज्ञान (नियमन) अधिनियम २०११ सरोगसी) या अशासकीय विधेयकावर चर्चा करून या विधेयकाची आवश्यकता पटवून दिली होती.आमदार फडणवीस यांच्या चर्चेनंतर मान. राज्यमंत्री फौजिया खान यांनी महाराष्ट्र साहाय्यक प्रजनन तंत्रज्ञान (नियमन) अधिनियम, २०११ (सरोगसी) याची तांत्रिक मुद्द्यांद्वारे तपासणी करण्यासाठी तसेच साहाय्यक प्रजनन तंत्रज्ञानातील विविध पैलूंचा अभ्यास करण्यासाठी तज्ज्ञ समितीची स्थापना करण्याचे आश्वासन दिले होते. त्यानुसार सार्वजनिक आरोग्य विभागाने ५ फेब्रुवारी, २०१३ च्या शासन निर्णयाद्वारे या कायद्यातील तरतुदींचा अभ्यास करण्यासाठी तज्ज्ञांची समिती स्थापन केली आहे. समितीचा कालावधी समिती स्थापन झाल्यापासून ६ महिन्यांचा असेल. या कालावधीत समिती अहवाल सरकारला सादर करेल.

Wombs for Rent

New Delhi (The Express Tribune) :Commercial surrogacy is a booming industry in India with legions of childless foreign couples looking for a low-cost, legally simple route to parenthood.
While the Indian government has been pushing the country as a medical tourism destination, the issue of wealthy foreigners paying poor Indians to have babies has raised ethical concerns in many Indian minds about “baby factories”.
The Confederation of Indian Industry, a leading business association, estimates the industry now generates more than $2 billion in revenues annually.

Bogus surrogacy: Cops hunt for biological parents

AHMEDABAD (TOI): The crime branch is now tracking the antecedents of another one-year-old baby allegedly sold to the family of a Porbandar-based doctor. Focus of the probe is to ascertain biological parents of the baby boy.

Crime branch officials say that two baby boys were sold to one family of Porbandar for Rs 4 lakh each. Joint commissioner of police, crime branch, A K Sharma said: "We have also gathered scientific evidence that proves that the doctor and his wife are not the biological parents of the two babies. The two babies were allegedly sold from the hospital of Dr Bharat Atit. Four persons have been made accused in a complaint filed at the Mahila police station. We suspect that more such illegal transactions have taken place from the same hospital."

In December 2012, an offence was registered against Atit by the police investigators at the Mahila police station in Mithakhali. The doctor had then moved the Gujarat high court to seek anticipatory bail. HC had given an interim order that till the next hearing on February 5, from January 26 Atit should report to the crime branch for questioning daily.

"Investigations have proved that Atit had prepared forged documents that showed twin babies were born at his clinic in Saraspur in 2009. The reality is that that babies were born separately to two different women. However, the documents submitted to AMC by Atit's clinic say that the babies were twins born to the Porbandar doctor's wife. We have recovered these documents from the family's house in Porbandar," said Sharma.

Deputy commissioner of police, crime branch, Himanshu Shukla said: "This is the first case of bogus surrogacy that we have detected in the city. We cannot deny the possibility that more city doctors may be involved in this racket of selling babies illegally to childless couples. In this case, one of the surrogate mothers belongs to Ahmedabad, now we are hunting for the address of the other. We shall soon file a second complaint of illegal sale of baby in this regard.

" On February 5, crime branch will submit its progress report to the HC and seek custodial interrogation of the four persons accused in this case.

उसन्या मातृत्वाच्या कायद्याचं काय?

स्वस्त वैद्यकीय उपचार आणि गरिबी यामुळे सरोगसी पद्धतीद्वारे मूल जन्माला घालण्यासाठी भारताची आणि भारतीय स्त्रियांची निवड करणाऱ्या परदेशी जोडप्यांची संख्या वाढल्याचं दिसत आहे. दुर्दैवाने आपल्याकडे अजूनही सरोगसीबाबत कुठलाही कायदा नाही. त्याबाबतची केवळ चर्चाच सुरू आहे. असिस्टेड रिप्रॉडक्टिव्ह टेक्नॉलॉजी (रेग्युलेशन) बिल अँड रुल्स २००८ हे बिल संसदेत पाठविलं आहे, पण अजूनही त्यावर चर्चा होऊन त्याला मान्यता मिळालेली नाही. सरोगसी पद्धतीने मूल जन्माला घालताना अपु-या नियमांमुळे अनेक प्रकारची कायदेशीर गुंतागुंत निर्माण होण्याची शक्यता दिसून येते. म्हणूनच सरोगसीबाबत लवकरात लवकर कायदा व्हावा आणि तो सर्व प्रकारच्या शक्यता लक्षात घेऊन बनलेला असावा.

अपत्यहीन दांपत्यांसाठी 'आपल्या' बाळाचे स्वप्न!

मातृत्व ही निसर्गाची देणगीच! स्वत:च्या बाळाची अनेक स्वप्ने लग्न झालेल्या जोडप्यांनी रंगविलेली असतात. पण जेव्हा आपण आई होऊ शकत नाही हे जेव्हा त्या स्त्रीच्या लक्षात येते तेव्हा त्या जोडप्याच्या भावविश्वाला धक्का बसतो. अशा वेळी अनेक पर्याय डोळ्यांसमोर येतात. यातील जरा खर्चिक पण सध्या लोकप्रिय होत असलेला पर्याय म्हणजे 'सरोगसी'चा.

सरोगसी अर्थात उसने मातृत्व. काही वर्षांपूर्वी भारतात या पर्यायाचा फारसा विचार केला जात नसे. मातृत्वासाठी बाहेरून स्त्रीबिज किंवा शुक्राणू घेण्यासारख्या वैद्यकीय उपचारांमध्ये ती गोष्ट जगाला समजण्याची शक्यता नगण्य असते. सरोगसी मात्र जगापासून लपून राहणे अवघड असते. त्यामुळे 'लोक काय म्हणतील' ही भीती वाटून जोडपी हा पर्याय टाळतात. परंतु अभिनेता आमिर खान आणि किरण राव या दांपत्याने आपल्या बाळासाठी तो स्वीकारल्यावर सरोगसीला भारतातही ग्लॅमर प्राप्त झाले आहे. त्यामुळे ज्यांना त्याचा खर्च परवडू शकतो अशी जोडपी सरोगसीचा पर्याय निवडू लागली आहेत.

Registration by the Foreigners

Foreigners Registration in India
Supporting documents required for MEDICAL VISA.

Persons coming to India for medical treatment for serious illness are issued with this visa. The documents required for extension are as follows ( 2set).
a) Original valid Passport and visa.
b) Letter from concerned hospital (should be eminent and recognized hospital) where treatment is being taken along with supportive medical documents/diagnostic test reports (with tentative period of treatment).
c) MX (Medical X) visa for caretakers and relatives accompanying patient.
d) Four passport size photographs (4 cm x 4 cm colour photo with white background, ears distinctly visible, without spectacles and caps).
e) Copies of passport (photo page) and page indicating validity), bearing arrival stamp of Indian Immigration.
f) Copy of Indian visa.
g) Visas and all medical papers and diagnostic test reports.
h) Proof of Residence i.e. copies of electric bill/telephone bill/leave & licence agreement.
i) If the applicant is admitted in the hospital, medical certificate to that effect, bearing photo of the applicant attested by the Doctor.

New visa norms for foreigners; Surrogacy

Home ministry has introduced new visa norms for foreigners seeking to rent-a-womb in India with stringent eligibility criteria.

No surrogacy visa for gay foreigners

Mumbai ( Madhavi Rajadhyaksha/ TNN) : In a first-of-its-kind step towards regulating the practice of surrogacy in India, the Union home ministry has issued stringent guidelines for visas being issued to foreigners seeking to rent a womb in India. The diktat indicates that gay couples and single foreigners will no longer be eligible to have an Indian surrogate bear their child as only a foreign "man and woman" who have been married for a period of two years will be granted visas. 

Stating that the Union ministry of home affairs had noticed that some foreign nationals visited India for surrogacy on tourist visas, which wasn't appropriate, the ministry decided in a little-known circular sent out to foreign embassies in July 2012 that such foreigners would be eligible to enter India only on "medical" visas, and only if they fulfilled certain criteria. The circular was notified by the Foreign Regional Registration Office in Mumbai on December 17, 2012 and was subsequently sent out to fertility clinics.

It comes even as a legislation to regulate fertility clinics, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Regulation Bill 2010, awaits tabling in Parliament.

महाराष्ट्राच्या उपराजधानीतही 'सरोगेट मदर'

नागपूर (केवल जीवनतारे/ सकाळ) : 'सरोगेट मदर' किंवा "तात्पुरती माता' हा प्रकार आपल्या मानसिकतेला न पटणारा असला, तरी या पाश्‍चात्त्य प्रकाराचे अनुकरण आपण करीत आहोत. दिल्ली, मुंबई, कोलकता आणि गुजरातमधील बड्या शहरांमध्ये या संकल्पनेला मान्यता मिळेल, असे संकेत आहेत. हे लोण आता नागपुरातही पोहोचले असून उपराजधानीत पहिली "सरोगेट मदर' पुढील सहा महिन्यांत येथील एका खासगी रुग्णालयात बाळाला जन्म देणार आहे.

अपत्यप्राप्तीसाठी अमेरिकेसह पाश्‍चात्त्य देशात "सरोगेट मदर' ही संकल्पना रूढ झाली आहे; परंतु आपल्या देशात ही संकल्पना अजूनही रुजली नसली तरी हे अनुकरण करण्यात आपण मागे नसल्याचे वास्तव आहे. एखाद्या व्यक्तीसाठी स्वतःच्या गर्भात वाढविलेले मूल जन्मानंतर त्यांना दिले जाते. अपत्यप्राप्तीसाठी अक्षम असलेल्या व्यक्तींना केवळ त्यांचे बाळ वाढवण्यासाठी आपला गर्भ देणारी माता म्हणजे "सरोगेट मदर' म्हणून ओळखली जाते. सरोगेट मदर ही बाळाची नैसर्गिक माता असू शकेल. किंवा कुणाचे फलित बीज तिच्या गर्भात रोपण केले जाऊ शकते. तात्पुरत्या माता या साधारणत: गरीब किंवा मध्यमवर्गीय असतात. काही महिला स्वतःला मूल असूनही सरोगेट होतात. तर काही महिला आर्थिक उत्पन्नासाठीही सरोगेट होतात आणि आता तर कायद्याचे बळही सरोगसीला मिळाले आहे, हे विशेष. लहान शहरापर्यंत सरोगसी संकल्पना रुजली नसली तरी गुजरातमधील आनंद जिल्ह्यामध्ये सरोगसी मदर मोठ्या प्रमाणात आहेत. सरोगसीकडे उत्पन्नाचे साधन म्हणून बघितले जाते हे विशेष. नागपुरातील हा पहिलाच प्रयत्न असल्याचा दावा खासगी रुग्णालयाच्या प्रमुखांनी केला आहे.

कुसेचं मोल!

हिंदुस्थानच्या संस्कृतीतच नव्हे; तर जगातील सर्वच संस्कृतीमध्ये वांझ स्त्रीला कुठल्या ना कुठल्या प्रकारे हेटाळण्यात येते. आलेलं आहे. माता होण्याची आस जशी नैसर्गिक होती, तशीच ती सामाजिकही आहे. `टेस्ट टय़ुब बेबी'च्या शोधापर्यंत बाळ होण्यासाठी आसुसलेल्या भगिनींना आणि जोडप्यांना नवस सायासाबरोबरच अनेक अघोरी उपायांना सामोरं जावं लागायचं. देव-देवस्कीपासून ते बुवा-अम्मांपर्यंत भले भले शरण जायचे.

एखादी भगिनी कितीही सोज्वळ, प्रेमळ असो; पण वांझ म्हणून तिला दोषी धरलं जायचं. विज्ञानाच्या प्रगतीबरोबर मूल कसं होतं याचा उलगडा झाला. मुलं होणार्या त्रीला फक्त मुलीच होतात म्हणून जो काच असायचा व आहे, तो वेगळाच. मुलगा व मुलगी होण्यास जबाबदार संबंधित पुरुष असतो याचा उलगडा करणारं जैवविज्ञान विकसित झालं, तरी कळते पुरुषही आपल्यात दोष नसल्याचं मानतात. आजही जैवविज्ञान त्याही पुढं गेलंय. `टेस्ट टय़ुब बेबी' आज इतिहास झालाय. तर आज तेच तंत्रज्ञान आयव्ही-एफच्या पुढे एक पायरी सरकलंय. तरीही पुरुषी मानसिकतेने अजूनही डोळ्यांवर कातडं ओढून घेतलेलं आहे. ज्या जोडप्यांना मूल होत नाही; पण मूल हवंय किंवा एखाद्या त्रीला मूल हवंय, पण गरोदरपणा जोखमीचा वाटतो अशा त्रियांसाठी `सरोगसी' हा मार्ग सोयीचा वाटतो. अंदाजे गेल्या दहा वर्षांपासून भारतातही `सरोगेट मदर' अर्थात मातृत्व भाडय़ाने देण्याची पद्धत सुरू झाली आणि आज तिने भारतातील काही प्रदेशांमध्ये व्यवसाय म्हणून मूळ धरल्याचे जाणकार सांगतात.

Surrogacy overcomes birth pangs, comes of age in city

Indian Express (Anuradha Mascarenhas) : In the majority of cases, uterus damage owing to tuberculosis, cancer or other diseases is the reason for opting for surrogates.
After 14 years of marriage, and a few miscarriages, life dealt another jolt to a couple when the wife was diagnosed with uterine cancer and had a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). Their yearning for a child led to an answer; surrogacy. “We had no option but get a child through a surrogate mother,” the IT consultant said. Barely months remain for the surrogate to give birth and the couple is ecstatic. The 40-year-old woman is as careful and anxious as she would have, if the child been in her own womb. “At one point, when the surrogate mother was travelling from Bhuswal to Pune and developed severe contractions, the 40-year-old woman rushed to the city and made telephonic calls to ensure she gets prompt treatment,” said Dr Neena Sathe, who is in charge of the first surrogacy centre in the city at Oyster and Pearl Tulip Hospital.

सरोगसीच्या क्षेत्रात जगात भारताचा बोलबाला

भारतात गेल्या काही काळात वैद्यकीयशास्त्राच्या आधुनिक विकासाबरोबर सरोगसीच्या क्षेत्रातही जबरदस्त विकास झाला आहे. भारतात सरोगेट माता मिळविणे पश्चिमेच्या देशांपेक्षा जास्त सुकर आणि स्वस्त आहे. पश्चिमी देशांमध्ये सरोगसीसंबंधातील कायदे खूपच कडक आहेत; तर भारतात अजून या क्षेत्रात कडक कायदे झालेले नसल्यामुळे इथे सरोगसीबाबतीत अधिकतर कायदेशीर अडचणी येत नाहीत. या परिस्थितीत सरोगसीच्या उपचारासाठी अधिकाधिक विदेशी भारतात येत आहेत आणि या क्षेत्रात उपचारासाठी भारताने जागतिक स्तरावर मोठी प्रसिद्धीही मिळविली आहे.

या उपचाराच्या खर्चाची बाब म्हटली तर भारतात सरोगसीसाठी येणाऱया दांपत्याला सरोगेट मातेला एक लाख ते साडेतीन लाख रूपये देण्याची तयारी ठेवावी लागते. सरोगेटची ही फी प्रत्येक केंद्राप्रमाणे वेगवेगळी असते; कारण यासाठी कोणताही विशेष कायदा नाही. सरोगेटसाठी उत्तम निरोगी प्रकृतीची आणि निरोगी मूल असलेल्या विवाहीत स्त्रीची निवड करण्यात येते. त्याचबरोबर ही सरोगेट संपूर्ण सरोगसीच्या प्रक्रियेला योग्य प्रकारे समजू शकेल अशी समजूतदार असणेही खूप गरजेचे आहे.

सरोगसीच्या संपूर्ण प्रक्रियेत इन विट्रो फर्टिलायझेशन तंत्राचा अवलंब करण्यात येतो. याच्या एका सायकलमागे सुमारे सत्तर हजार रूपये खर्च करण्याची तयारी ठेवावी लागते.सरोगेटला द्याव्या लागणाऱया अन्य सुविधांची बाब म्हटली तर अंड अन्य भारतीय स्त्रीकडून घेतले गेले तर अंडदाता स्त्रीला चार अंड्यासाठी दीड ते दोन लाख रूपये द्यावे लागतात. याशिवाय जर अंडदाती अमेरिका, ब्रिटन वा रशियाची नागरिक असेल तर त्याहून दुप्पट रक्कमही खर्च करण्यास तयार राहावे लागते. सरोगेट मातेच्या गर्भात जुळे असेल तर सिझेरियन आणि अन्य जटिल समस्यांसाठी आणखी दीडेक लाख रूपये खर्च करण्याची तयारी ठेवावी लागते. याशिवाय सरोगेटला दर महिन्यास औषधे आणि पौष्टिक आहारापोटी दोन ते तीन हजार रूपये द्यावे लागतात. कित्येकदा सरोगेट स्पा पॅकेज आणि लहानमोठ्या टूरच्या खर्चाचीही मागणी करते.

भारतात सरोगसी संबंधात खास कडक कायदे नसल्यामुळे वेगवेगळ्या ठिकाणी त्याकरितांच्या नियमांमध्ये विसंगती पाहवयास मिळते. आता उशीरा का होईना सरकारला जाग आली आहे. `असिस्टेड रिप्रॉडक्टीव्ह टेक्नॉलॉजी बिल्स आणि रुल्स'चे विधेयक संसदेत सादर करण्यात येणार आहे. जागतिक पातळीवर भारताची गणना स्वस्त आयव्हीएफ सुविधांचे केंद्र म्हणून होते; पण एकदा का हे विधेयक सादर झाल्यानंतर या क्षेत्रातील प्रत्येक हालचाल सरकारच्या नजरेखाली येईल. भारतात सरोगसी क्षेत्राच्या प्रगतीत स्वस्त सुविधांचा खूप मोठा वाटा आहे. ज्या व्यक्तिला अमेरिकेत सरोगसीची सुविधा पाहिजे असेल तर त्याला 65 लाखाहून जास्त रक्कम खर्च करण्याची तयारी ठेवावी लागते; पण भारतात हेच काम लहानमोठ्या पाचशे क्लिनिक्समधून चार ते पाच लाख रूपयांमध्ये होते.

भारतात उपलब्ध सरोगसीच्या सुविधांचा लाभ अनेक विदेशी भारतीय घेतात. एका फर्टिलिटी निष्णाताच्या म्हणण्यानुसार त्यांच्याकडील एकूण रुग्णांपैकी 64 टक्के रुग्ण भारतीय आहेत आणि त्यातील 37 टक्के एनआरआय आहेत. भारतात सरोगसीचा बाजार 2000 कोटी रूपयांचा आहे आणि यामुळेच सरोगेटला अधिकतम फायदा मिळेल तसेच बाळजन्म जास्त सुलभ आणि स्वस्त होण्यासाठी सरकार विशेष कायदा करण्याची तजवीज करीत आहे.
संदर्भ : http://www.zagmag.net/index.php/baudhik/surrogates.html 

Surrogacy as cover for trading in babies

Ahmedabad/Ujjwala Nayudu (Indian Express) : The uncovering of what appears to be baby trading has blurred the line between such rackets and surrogacy, amid signs that the woman not only sold off at least one child but has also struck a deal for one she is expecting.
Manjula, or Mona Thakor, admits she was paid for a baby by a Ahmedabad gynaecologist who routed it to a couple. The crime branch has found she is pregnant once again and has registered with another doctor to deliver the baby as a surrogate.
The police case is against gynaecologist Bharat Atit, nurse Niru Rathi and Thakor’s boyfriend Rajkumar Jadav. It is not yet clear whether the baby’s father is Rajkumar or the woman’s former husband, with whom she had renewed her relationship.