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.
