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.

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.

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.

‘Surrogacy visa’ for foreigners visiting India

Dubai (Xpress-Sharmila Dhal, ) : Foreigners visiting India for surrogacy purposes can only travel on medical visas, the Indian Consulate has said.

“We have so far not received any applications in this category,” a spokesperson told XPRESS, but added that foreign nationals living in the UAE can apply for surrogacy visas to India, provided they fulfill other conditions.

Surrogacy is a form of assisted reproductive treatment (ART) in which a woman conceives and carries a child for another couple and then surrenders the newborn child to them.

Every year, an estimated 25,000 children are said to be born to surrogate mothers who rent their wombs in India. Over half of them are commissioned by infertile western couples.

The Indian Consulate said tourist visas are issued to foreign couples for reconnaissance trips as they must produce a duly notarised agreement between them and the prospective Indian surrogate mother when they apply for the surrogacy visa, but no samples can be given to any clinic during the preliminary visit.

Subsequently, it should take a few days before the medical visa is issued. “Subject to all required documents and mandatory clearances, it should take five-six working days,” a spokesperson said.

There are many conditions to be fulfilled by the applicants.  
The foreign couple must have been married for at least two years.

The spokesperson said those seeking a surrogacy visa to India must verify whether the law of his or her country permits surrogacy and will provide travel documents to the child to accompany the surrogate parents.

The treatment can be done only at registered ART clinics recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Also before couples leave India, ‘exit’ permits must be be obtained testifying that the couple has taken full custody of the child and all liabilities towards the Indian surrogate mother have been fully discharged.