Insurance for Surrogate Mother: आता 'सरोगेट मदर'ला मिळणार फूल इन्शुरन्स कव्हर!

Insurance for Surrogate Mother: इन्शुरन्स रेग्युलेटरी ऑथोरिटी म्हणजेच ईर्डाने इन्शुरन्स कंपन्यांना सरोगसीसाठी स्पेशल इन्शुरन्स प्रोडक्ट तयार करण्याचे निर्देश दिले आहेत. त्यातून सरोगेट मदरच्या (Surrogate Mother) मेडिकलचा खर्च, डिलेव्हरी आणि डिलेव्हरीनंतर होणारा मेडिकलचा खर्च क्लेम करता येणार आहे.

भारतीय विमा नियामक आणि विकास प्राधिकरण (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India-IRDAI) अर्थात ईर्डाने नुकतीच सरोगसी (Surrogacy) या संकल्पनेला हेल्थ इन्शुरन्स कव्हरमध्ये स्थान दिले आहे. याबाबत ईर्डाने सर्व विमा कंपन्यांना निर्देश दिले असून, विमा कंपन्यांनी आपल्या इन्शुरन्स पॉलिसीजमधून सरोगसीचा खर्च सुद्धा कव्हर करण्याच्या सूचना दिल्या आहेत.

इन्शुरन्स रेग्युलेटरी ऑथोरिटीच्या या निर्णयामुळे जे दाम्पत्य मुलासाठी सरोगसी या प्रक्रियेचा वापर करत आहेत; त्यांना दिलासा मिळाला आहे. ईर्डाच्या या निर्णयामुळे सरोगेट मदरच्या (Surrogate Mother) मेडिकलचा खर्च, डिलेव्हरी आणि डिलेव्हरीनंतर होणारा मेडिकल खर्च क्लेम करता येणार आहे.

सरोगसी म्हणजे काय?

ज्या पती-पत्नींना काही वैद्यकीय कारणांमुळे मूल होऊ शकत नाही किंवा काही कारणामुळे एखादी स्त्री तिच्या गर्भाशयात मूल वाढवू शकत नाही. अशी स्त्री तिचे मूल दुसऱ्या महिलेच्या गर्भाशयात वाढवू शकते. म्हणजेच एखादी स्त्री दुसऱ्या स्त्रीचे मूल आपल्या गर्भाशयात वाढवते. त्या महिलेला सरोगेट मदर (Surrogate Mother) म्हणतात आणि या प्रक्रियेला सरोगसी (Surrogacy) म्हणतात.

भारतात सरोगसीला कायद्याने मान्यता!

भारतात सरोगसी नियमन कायदा, 2021 (The Surrogacy, Regulation Act 2021) संसदेत पास करण्यात आला आहे. त्यानंतर 2022 मध्ये या कायद्याला अनुसरून याचे नियम देखील तयार करण्यात आले आहेत. पण सरोगसी नियमन कायद्यांतर्गत भारतात व्यावसायिक सरोगसीवर (Commercial Surrogacy)  बंदी घालण्यात आली आहे.

सरोगसीला मान्यता देताना केंद्र सरकारने काही गोष्टींवर जाणीवपूर्वक बंदी आणली आहे. जसे की, व्यावसायिक हेतुसाठी सरोगसीचा वापर करता येणार नाही. तसेच ज्या जोडप्याला स्वत:चे मूल असेल ते जोडपे सरोगसीचा वापर करू शकणार नाही. तसेच परदेशात राहणारे, डबल सिटीझनशीप असणारे आणि गे-जोडपे सरोगसीचा वापर करू शकणार नाहीत.

गुजरातमधील 'आनंद' सरोगेट मदर्सची फॅक्टरी 

मागील 5 ते 6 वर्षात सरोगसीमुळे भारत आंतरराष्ट्रीय पातळीवर वेगळ्या अर्थाने चर्चेत राहिला होता. काही वर्षांपूर्वी जागतिक पातळीवर भारताला सरोगसीचा कारखाना म्हटले जात होते. गुजरातमधील आनंद हे गाव दुधासाठी जितके प्रसिद्ध आहे; तितकेच ते काही वर्षांपूर्वी सरोगसी आणि सरोगेट मदरसाठी कुप्रसिद्ध होते. या गावात विदेशातून मोठ्या संख्येने स्त्री-पुरुष जोडप्यांबरोबरच गे जोडपी देखील सरोगसीच्या माध्यमातून मुलांना जन्माला घालण्यासाठी येथे येत होती. यामुळे आनंद या गावामध्ये गर्भाशय भाड्याने देणाऱ्या महिलांचा जणू काही कारखानाच उघडला गेला होता.

ईर्डाकडून सरोगसीच्या इन्शुरन्सला मान्यता

ईर्डाकडून भारतातील इन्शुरन्स कंपन्यांना सरोगसी संदर्भात इन्शुरन्स प्रोडक्ट डेव्हलप करण्याबाबत विचारणा करण्यात आली होती. कारण सध्या बरीच जोडपी विशेषत: सेलिब्रेटी हे सरोगसीचा पर्याय वापरत आहेत. तर अशा जोडप्यांना आता सरोगसी अ‍ॅक्ट, सरोगसी नियमन आणि असिस्टेड रिप्रोडक्टीव्ह टेक्नॉलॉजी अ‍ॅक्ट 2021 अंतर्गत सरोगसीचा पर्याय स्वीकारणाऱ्या जोडप्यांना सरोगेट मदरसाठी इन्शुरन्स काढण्याची सोय उपलब्ध झाली आहे.

यामुळे सरोगेट मदरच्या प्रेगन्सीच्या काळातील आणि प्रेगन्सीनंतरचा मेडिकल खर्च इन्शुरन्समध्ये ग्राह्य धरला जाणार आहे. सरोगेट मदरसाठी दिला जाणारा इन्शुरन्स हा सरोगसी कायद्याला धरून असावा, अशा सूचना ईर्डाने इन्शुरन्स कंपन्यांना दिल्या आहेत. या सूचनांना अनुसरून इन्शुरन्स कंपन्यांनी सरोगसीला धरून वेगळे प्रोडक्ट तयार करण्याची इच्छा दर्शवली आहे. जे रेग्युलर प्रेगनन्सी पॉलिसीपेक्षा वेगळे असेल. 

सरोगसी नियमन विधेयक लोकसभेत संमत

विवाहितांसाठीच ‘सरोगसी’

महिलांचे शोषण रोखणारे तसेच व्यावसायिक सरोगसीला मज्जाव करणारे 'सरोगसी नियमन विधेयक २०१६' बुधवारी लोकसभेत संमत झाले. कायदेशीर विवाहास किमान पाच वर्षे झालेल्या अपत्यहीन दाम्पत्याला नात्यातील महिलेच्या मदतीने मूल जन्मास घालणे शक्य होणार आहे.

महिलांचे शोषण रोखणारे तसेच व्यावसायिक सरोगसीला मज्जाव करणारे सरोगसी नियमन विधेयक २०१६' बुधवारी लोकसभेत संमत झाले. कायदेशीर विवाहास किमान पाच वर्षे झालेल्या अपत्यहीन दाम्पत्याला नात्यातील महिलेच्या मदतीने मूल जन्मास घालणे शक्य होणार आहे. मात्र, समलैंगिक संबंध असलेल्या किंवा 'लिव्ह इन रिलेशन'मधील जोडप्यांना या कायद्याचा लाभ मिळणार नाही. 

'पारंपरिक कुटुंबाची व्याख्या पूर्ण करणाऱ्या दाम्पत्यालाच या विधेयकाचा लाभ मिळेल. अनिवासी भारतीयांना सरोगसीची परवानगी देतानाच, परदेशी दाम्पत्यांना मात्र मनाई करण्यात आली आहे,' असे केंद्रीय आरोग्यमंत्री जगतप्रकाश नड्डा यांनी स्पष्ट केले. पत्नीचे वय २३ ते ५० आणि पतीचे वय २६ ते ५५ दरम्यान असणे अनिवार्य असेल. दाम्पत्याच्या नात्यात असलेल्या विवाहित महिलेला एकदाच सरोगेट आई होण्याची परवानगी मिळेल.

स्त्रोत: https://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/india-news/ls-passes-bill-on-surrogacy/articleshow/67168577.cms

Lok Sabha passes surrogacy bill in likely boost for adoption in India

The surrogacy bill bans commercial renting of wombs, allows ‘altruistic surrogacy’, and has a provision for jail term up to 10 years

Neetu Chandra Sharma

New Delhi: Adoption may get a leg-up in India following the passage of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, banning commercial renting of wombs and allowing only “altruistic surrogacy”.

According to the Bill, all except legally married Indian couples who otherwise would not be able to conceive will be barred from opting for surrogacy. Besides, only a close relative can become a surrogate for “medically proven infertile” couples.

Experts claim that the stringent rules and regulations may encourage couples to turn toward adoption. “As surrogacy services were easily available, people used to hire a surrogate for having a baby, no matter if they were married, single or same sex couples,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.

“As commercial surrogacy will not be an option in the near future, intended single parents or couples willing to have a baby will look at adoption to fulfil the need. This may possibly boost the dismal adoption figures in India,” she said.

The draft law has a provision for a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of ₹10 lakh for violations such as abandoning a child and choosing commercial surrogacy. “The decision is big and is in the interest of all women and children. There were reports of surrogates being harassed because of the dearth of regulation. In the Bill, altruistic surrogacy is legalized and commercial surrogacy is criminalized. We need to see with time how this will impact the adoption scenario in country, which is also a noble cause,” said Balram Bhargava, secretary, department of health research, ministry of health and family welfare.

From April 2017 to March 2018 only 3,276 children were adopted in India, according to the Central Adoption Resource Authority, ministry of women and child development.

Health minister J.P. Nadda termed the proposed legislation “historic”. “The aim of the bill was to stop commercial surrogacy but at the same time save families by allowing them to have children by using modern science. Only defined mother and family can avail of surrogacy and the same was not permitted for live-in partners or single parents,” Nadda said.

The Bill comes against the backdrop of reports of unethical practices, exploitation of surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy and rackets around intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes were reported.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha after an hour-long debate amid noisy protests by Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members. Supriya Sule of the Congress tweeted, “Surrogacy is a moral, social and emotional issue concerning parenthood. There must not be a 5-year clause to prove infertility, when science and technology has progressed so much, why should the couple wait for that long a while to have a child through surrogacy?” “Bill must mould itself in a more modern shape by considering cases of potential single parents, widows, same sex couples who want to have children as well, especially after recent progressive judgments,” she said.

Source : https://www.livemint.com/Politics/hARv5G5wm1Fo2QQqQ43I3J/Lok-Sabha-passes-surrogacy-bill-in-likely-boost-for-adoption.html

For detail bill : http://164.100.47.4/BillsTexts/LSBillTexts/Asintroduced/257_LS_2016_Eng.pdf

सरोगसी नियमन विधेयकाला केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळाची मंजुरी

नवी दिल्ली : सरोगसी नियमन विधेयकाला केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडळानं मंजुरी दिली आहे.

सरोगसी विधेयकामुळे आता भाडोत्री मातृत्वाच्या बाजारपेठेला आळा बसेल असं मत परराष्ट्र मंत्री सुषमा स्वराज यांनी व्यक्त केले.

भारतात 2002 मध्ये सरोगसीला मान्यता देण्यात आली. पण, त्यानंतर भारत म्हणे सरोगसीची बाजारपेठ बनली.

 अनेक अनैतिक गोष्टी समोर आल्या. त्यामुळेच या सरोगसी नियमन विधेयकाला मंजुरी देण्यात आली.

 आता सरोगसीचा हक्क फक्त भारतीय नागरिकांनाच असेल. तसेच परदेशी नागरिकांना, अनिवासी भारतीय, विदेशातील भारतीय वंशाच्या व्यक्ती आता भाडोत्री मातृत्वाची सवलत घेता येणार नाही.

Cabinet approves introduction of the "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016"

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of the "Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016". 

The Bill will regulate surrogacy in India by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level and State Surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities in the State and Union Territories. The legislation will ensure effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples. 

All infertile Indian married couple who want to avail ethical surrogacy will be benefited. Further the rights of surrogate mother and children born out of surrogacy will be protected. The Bill shall apply to whole of India, except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The major benefits of the Act would be that it will regulate the surrogacy services in the country. 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. As such, it will control the unethical practices in surrogacy, prevent commercialization of surrogacy and will prohibit potential exploitation of surrogate mothers and children born through surrogacy. 

No permanent structure is proposed to be created in the Draft Bill. Neither there are proposals for creating new posts. The proposed legislation, while covering an important area is framed in such a manner that it ensures effective regulation but does not add much vertically to the current regulatory structure already in place at the central as well as states. Accordingly, there will not be any financial implications except for the meetings of the National and State surrogacy Boards and Appropriate Authorities which will be met out of the regular budget of Central and State governments. 

Background: 

India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples from different countries and there have been reported incidents concerning unethical practices, exploitation of surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy and rackets of intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes. Widespread condemnation of commercial surrogacy prevalent in India has also been regularly published in different print-and electronic media since last few years highlighting the need to prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical altruistic surrogacy. The 228th report of the Law Commission of India has also recommended for prohibiting commercial surrogacy and allowing ethical altruistic surrogacy to the needy Indian citizens by enacting a suitable legislation.

Coup bans surrogacy for foreigners in Thailand

Bangkok (Indian Express) : Thailand’s military-picked legislature has passed a law that criminalizes commercial surrogacy and prohibits foreigners from seeking surrogacy services in the kingdom after a string of scandals last year.

Lawmaker Wanlop Tangkananurak said Friday that the law aims to stop Thailand from being a commercial surrogacy hub for foreign couples or “the wombs of the world.”

PARSIS CONSIDER SURROGACY TO BOOST POPULATION

Mumbai  (By Jyoti Shelar, Mumbai Mirror) : Ultra orthodox in the community are debating if scriptures allow renting of a non-Parsi womb.

Parsis are considering the option of surrogacy under the government funded Jiyo Parsi scheme to boost the community's dwindling population. While a high priest who was consulted on the idea has given a conditional nod stating that the egg and the sperm has to be of the Parsi couple, the ultra orthodox in the community are debating over the rightness of renting a womb. 

Surrogate Mothers Entitled to Maternity Leave, Benefits: HC

KOCHI: Expressing concern over lack of rules and regulations on surrogacy, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday observed that there should not be any discrimination towards women who adopt the method while granting maternity leave and other benefits.
The court also observed that even in the absence of statutory framework, surrogacy in India is not illegal.
Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu issued the directive on a petition filed by Geetha, Deputy General Manager, Kerala Livestock Development Board, challenging her employer’s decision to decline her maternity leave to look after a baby obtained through surrogacy.
The Board rejected her request on the ground that the Board’s regulations did not allow providing leave to a woman employee who got a baby through surrogacy.
Counsel for the petitioner Thushara James submitted that maternity, either through biological process or through surrogacy, is the same for all the intended benefits. Motherhood does not end with a delivery of a baby, but continues, with more vigour, through the process of child-rearing, which is an equally difficult task.  The court said the petitioner was entitled to all post-delivery benefits sans the leave for improving the health of the mother after delivery.
Child specific statutory benefits, if any, could be extended to the petitioner. She is eligible for two breaks of the prescribed duration for nursing the child until the child attains the age of 15 months.
The petitioner also contended that motherhood was an integral part of womanhood and with the advanced assisted reproduction techniques in place, one could not cling to the traditional meaning of maternity.
Sumathi Dandapani, counsel for the Board, submitted that the petitioner went on leave with an excuse that she has to take care of a newborn.

For Detail Judgement : Kerala High Court Judgement

Ref:http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Surrogate-Mothers-Entitled-to-Maternity-Leave-Benefits-HC/2015/01/07/article2607030.ece

Maha becomes 1st state to draft surrogacy guidelines

Mumbai (By Jyoti Shelar/ Mumbai Mirror) : In a first, Maharashtra has got its own set of guidelines to regulate surrogacy in the state. A twomember team comprising top gynaecologists, appointed by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), has formulated state-specific surrogacy guidelines and the draft was submitted to the council for scrutiny last week. 

The team comprises eminent gynaecologist Dr Sanjay Gupte from Pune and gynaecologist Dr Bipin Pandit from Mumbai. The decision to form the guidelines was triggered in April, after the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) pulled up city's top three surrogacy clinics for flouting visa norms related to couples seeking surrogacy. 

Need for legal framework to regulate surrogacy: CSR

New Delhi (Business Standard) : There is an urgent need for a rights-based legal framework to regulate surrogacy in India, an organisation working for social causes said Thursday.
"The unregulated reproductive tourism industry of 'procreating' through surrogacy is rapidly increasing in India while there is still no legal provision to safeguard the interests of all the major stakeholders involved in the surrogacy arrangement," the Centre for Social Research (CSR) said.

Delhi now ‘surrogacy capital’ of India

New Delhi (Sanjay Kaw/The Asian Age) : Delhi is fast emerging as a major hub for surrogacy in the country. An in-depth study conducted by the Centre for Social Research has indicated that about 50 clinics in the city are carrying out surrogacy procedures here. Estimates show that each clinic delivers about 250 children through surrogate mothers every year.
“What was once limited to a few cities in the country has spread all over the national capital,” CSR director Ranjana Kumari told this newspaper. “There is no proper law to regulate the billion dollar rent-a-womb industry in the country.”
Dr Kumari said that so far about 40,000 to 45,000 children are reported to have been born through surrogacy in the entire country. A study conducted by the CSR in Anand, Surat and Jamnagar showed that a majority of surrogate mothers belonged to economically-weaker families. The average monthly income of these women was found between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000. Most of these women belonged to Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and slums of Mumbai.

The Karnataka Legislative Committee urges to govt to regulate surrogacy

BANGALORE : The Karnataka Legislative Committee asked the government to formulate a law to protect the socio-economic interests of surrogate mothers and to save them from exploitation. It observed that there is an increase in advertisements from hospitals and illegal clinics which cater to the needs of childless couples and urged the government to set up an accreditation authority to regulate the assisted reproductive services offered by private medical institutions.
The committee said there is no legislation in force in the country to protect surrogate mothers. Pointing out that there is a huge demand from abroad for Indian surrogate mothers as surrogacy is a costly and complicated affair in foreign countries, the committee said India may become a medical tourism destination in future.
Surrogacy has turned into a business and is being controlled by touts, the committee observed and said Health and Family Welfare Department should ensure that poor women offering themselves as surrogate mothers are not exploited.

Top surrogacy clinics under MMC scanner

Mumbai (Jyoti Shelar/ Mumbai Mirror) : Police commissioner names Bandra's Rotunda, Andheri's Corion, and Lilavati's surrogacy clinic in his letter to the Maharashtra Medical Council.
Three of the city's top surrogacy clinics are under the scanner after Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria recently raised a red flag over possible visa norms violations by them.

The Maharashtra Medical Council has now constituted a two-member committee to look into surrogacy practices of Bandra's Rotunda Fertility Clinic, Andheri's Corion Fertility Clinic, and the surrogacy clinic at the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra. The committee comprises gynaecologist Dr Sanjay Gupte from Pune and senior gynaecologist Dr Bipin Pandit of Mumbai.

Sources said that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office -- which regulates the registration, movement, and stay of foreign nationals - had detected abuse of visa norms by the three clinics. One of the main discrepancies observed was that people travelling on tourist visas were being allowed to undergo surrogacy procedures.

Surrogacy Bill set to be finalised

New Delhi (TEENA THACKER |Deccan Chronicle) : Aimed at regulating surrogacy in India, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (regulation) Bill is all set to be finalised soon. The Union health ministry will hold a two-day consultation with all the stakeholders, including the Planning Commission this week.
The Planning Commission has so far been apprehensive about the proposed draft of the Bill finalised by the health ministry. Officials in the health ministry are aiming now to finalise the draft Bill so that it can be introduced in the Parliament without any further delay.
The Bill was first drafted five years ago. While the health ministry was considering to approach the law ministry for amending the draft, the Planning Commission raised objections over the proposed bill and asked the ministry to consult them before the final draft is sent to the law ministry.
“The ART Bill that aims to regulate surrogacy in the country has been delayed since 2008 when the first draft was prepared. It was revised in 2010 but is yet to get a final approval from the law ministry,” an official said.
It is, however, learnt that the new draft may allow surrogacy to all including unmarried couples and those in live-in relationships.
Ref: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140414/nation-current-affairs/article/assisted-reproductive-technology-bill-set-be-finalised

Maharashtra Medical Council forms panel to regularise surrogacy

Mumbai : (DNA/ Santosh Andhale and Somita Pal) : In a first in India, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has decided to formulate rules and regulations on surrogacy and has formed a committee for the same. The step was taken after the Mumbai police commissioner wrote a complaint letter to the MMC alleging malpractice on part of city's three leading infertility experts, who are from the surrogacy sector.
MMC is a statutory body that has the power to suspend a doctor's licence if s/he is found guilty of malpractice.
Currently, the surrogacy treatment is unchecked, unsupervised and not regularised. According to sources, there are around 70-80 IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) centres in Mumbai and 200 in the state, with the numbers rising over the past few months. The cost of the treatment runs into lakhs.

No visa needed for OCIs & PIOs coming for surrogacy

New Delhi (The Hindu) : Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can fly to the country without a medical visa for commissioning surrogacy. Foreigners will, however, have to continue obtaining a visa.

A Home Ministry order says a couple with an OCI or PIO card, married for at least two years, would have to take permission only from the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO). They must, however, carry a letter from their country, issued by the Foreign Ministry or the Embassy here, saying it recognised surrogacy and that the child born thus would be permitted entry as the couple’s biological offspring.

Banglore : Head of surrogacy clinic held for 'cheating'

Bangalore (Deccan Herald) : The founder of a hi-tech surrogacy clinic in Basaveshwarnagar has been arrested and sent to jail on the charge of “cheating” more than 30 people who alleged that he failed to keep his promise to help them get babies through surrogacy and egg donation.

K T Gurumurthy, the founder and managing director of Shrushti Global Medicare and Research Foundation, was arrested by Kamakshipalya police after more than 30 people made a complaint of cheating against him.

The complainants alleged that Gurumurthy had pocketed lakhs of rupees from them, promising to help them get babies through surrogacy and egg donation, police said. Gurumurthy was produced before the 5th ACMM court which remanded him in judicial custody till January 27, said DCP (West) Labhu Ram. He added that police would investigate whether the foundation had obtained the necessary permission to conduct the surrogacy procedures and how Gurumurthy “cheated” innocent people.

The foundation, on its website (http://www.shrushtifertility.com/home.html), has stated that it is the “one and only hi-tech surrogate centre in South India offering comprehensive, value-based assisted reproductive technology programmes for clients across the world since 1999.”

A 29-member team runs the foundation. “We ensure that egg donation and the surrogacy arrangements through us are managed by an attorney, doctors and psychologists. This team assists in providing prompt, personal service to help make the right decision regarding your egg donors, surrogates or intended parents,” says an introduction on the website.

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.