0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views3 pages

Assigment Law

The document discusses surrogacy in India, highlighting its rise due to affordability and lack of strict regulations, while also addressing the legal and ethical concerns surrounding the practice. It outlines the evolution of surrogacy laws in India, including the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act of 2021, which bans commercial surrogacy and limits services to Indian citizens. Ethical issues such as the exploitation of surrogate mothers, the commercialization of children, and the rights of children born through surrogacy are also examined.

Uploaded by

mba24236
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views3 pages

Assigment Law

The document discusses surrogacy in India, highlighting its rise due to affordability and lack of strict regulations, while also addressing the legal and ethical concerns surrounding the practice. It outlines the evolution of surrogacy laws in India, including the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act of 2021, which bans commercial surrogacy and limits services to Indian citizens. Ethical issues such as the exploitation of surrogate mothers, the commercialization of children, and the rights of children born through surrogacy are also examined.

Uploaded by

mba24236
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

I.

Introduction
Surrogacy is when a woman, called the surrogate, agrees to carry and have a baby for someone else, who are
known as the intended parents. Surrogacy can be traditional, which means the surrogate is the biological mom,
or gestational, where the surrogate carries a baby that was made through in vitro fertilization using eggs and
sperm from the intended parents or donors.

India has become a popular place for surrogacy because it has affordable prices, experienced doctors, and rules
that were not very strict at first. But, this industry has raised a lot of worries about the legal and ethical issues,
like the exploitation of surrogate mothers, the commercialization of kids, and the rights of everyone involved,
including the children, surrogates, and intended parents.

This analysis looks into the legal situation regarding surrogacy in India and also discusses the ethical issues
from both local and international viewpoints.

II. Background of Surrogacy in India


1. The Rise of Surrogacy in India
India started to be seen as a popular place for surrogacy in the early 2000s, and commercial surrogacy really got
a lot of attention. The increase happened because medical services were cheap and there weren't strict laws,
which let fertility clinics provide surrogacy services to people from other countries for much less money than in
Western countries.

A lot of surrogate mothers in India come from poor backgrounds and are driven by the significant money they
can earn for carrying a baby. This was a way for intended parents, especially those from other countries, to find
a much cheaper option compared to surrogacy back home.

2. No Rules
At first, India didn't have any specific laws about surrogacy. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
came up with some non-binding guidelines in 2002 to manage assisted reproductive technologies (ART), which
also includes surrogacy. The guidelines talked about informed consent, medical care, and being transparent, but
they didn’t really have any way to enforce them and didn’t offer full protection for surrogate mothers or clarify
who the parents are for kids born through surrogacy.

The absence of a legal framework created a situation where exploitation and unethical practices were common.

III. Legal Framework for Surrogacy in India


The Indian government has made some changes to the laws to address the increasing worries and need for
surrogacy services.

1. ICMR Guidelines (2002)


The ICMR put out some guidelines to manage ART procedures, which also cover surrogacy. These didn't have
to be followed, so they didn't really make a big difference. The guidelines were all about:

Informed Consent: Making sure that surrogates knew about the risks and what surrogacy really means.

Medical and Psychological Screening: Making sure that surrogates were carefully evaluated before being
accepted for surrogacy.

Surrogacy should be something that people choose to do on their own, without any pressure or force from
anyone else.

Everyone involved, like clinics, surrogates, and intended parents, should be open and honest in what they do.

Even though these guidelines were meant to be a beginning, they really didn't offer enough protection for
surrogate mothers or deal with the increasing worries about exploitation.

2. The ART Bill (2010)


The ART Bill that was introduced in 2010 aimed to manage the expanding ART industry, which includes
surrogacy. The bill talked about a bunch of different issues:
Surrogate eligibility: It’s suggested that surrogates should be aged between 21 and 35, must have at least one
child of their own, and shouldn’t be used more than once as a surrogate.

The bill says that only married Indian couples who have medical issues that stop them from having kids can use
surrogacy.

The bill highlighted how important it is to have informed consent and to ensure that surrogates are properly
protected.

The ART Bill was a move in the right direction for regulation, but it didn't really tackle the issues of
exploitation or give enough legal protection for surrogate mothers.

3. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill (2016)


In 2016, the Indian government brought out the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill to manage commercial surrogacy
and ensure legal protections for surrogates. The main points of the bill were:

The bill suggests that commercial surrogacy should be banned and that surrogacy should be based on altruism,
meaning no profit should be involved. It also states that surrogates can only be compensated for their medical
expenses and insurance.

Surrogates and Intended Parents need to meet certain criteria: Surrogates must be aged between 25 and 35,
married, and should have at least one child. Parents who want to have a baby should be married Indian couples
facing medical issues that make it hard to conceive.

The bill made it clear that the intended parents are the legal parents of a child born through surrogacy, meaning
the surrogate won't have any claim to the child.

The bill was a big deal because it limited surrogacy to married Indian couples, leaving out single people and
foreigners.

4. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act (2021)


The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act started in 2021, taking the place of the old law. This law was intended to:

The Act totally bans commercial surrogacy and only allows for altruistic surrogacy.

Surrogacy services are only for Indian citizens. People from other countries, those who are single, and non-
resident Indians (NRIs) can't apply.

Surrogates need to go through medical, psychological, and social screening for their protection. The law makes
sure they are protected during the whole process.

The Act gives the government the authority to impose penalties on fertility clinics that break the law.

This Act is definitely a move in the right direction, but it's still pretty controversial, especially because it leaves
out foreign nationals and single people.

IV. Ethical Implications of Surrogacy in India


Surrogacy brings up a lot of ethical questions, especially about the rights of surrogate mothers, the idea of
making children a business, and the well-being of kids who are born this way.

1. The Use of Surrogate Mothers


An important ethical issue is the exploitation of surrogate mothers, who frequently come from disadvantaged or
vulnerable situations. Some surrogates might be mainly driven by money and might not completely grasp the
risks that come with it. Some ethical issues are:

Informed Consent: Surrogate mothers might not completely understand the medical, psychological, and
emotional risks involved in surrogacy.

Surrogates might feel pushed by their families or the surrogacy agencies to take part.
Financial Exploitation: Surrogate mothers get just a tiny part of the money paid by intended parents, while most
of it goes to the fertility clinics or agencies.

2. Turning Kids into Products


The way children are treated as products is a big ethical problem, particularly in commercial surrogacy. The idea
of paying a woman to have and deliver a baby brings up questions about whether it's right to see kids as things
that can be bought or sold.

3. Rights of Kids Born Through Surrogacy


The rights of kids born through surrogacy are usually ignored in the discussions about what's right and wrong.
Some ethical issues related to kids are:

Emotional Well-being: Kids who are born through surrogacy might have some issues with their identity and
feelings, especially when they find out how they were born.

Legal Parentage: Surrogacy agreements usually say that the intended parents are the legal parents, but there are
ethical issues when kids are in a situation where their biological origins aren't acknowledged.

4. Surrogacy Across Borders


Fertility tourism is getting more popular, and now surrogacy is a big business worldwide. People from richer
countries are going to India to find surrogacy services. This brings up some ethical issues regarding:

Exploitation of Vulnerable Women: Surrogacy frequently exploits the financial differences between countries,
with women in developing nations facing both physical and emotional risks.

Surrogacy services are usually only available to richer people, which means a lot of others can't use this option
for having kids.

V. Conclusion
Surrogacy in India is a really complicated topic that mixes legal rules, ethical questions, and the need to protect
human rights. The Indian government has taken steps to regulate the surrogacy industry with laws such as the
Surrogacy (Regulation) Act. However, there are still challenges, particularly concerning the ethical treatment of
surrogate mothers and the legal status of children born through surrogacy.

The surrogacy industry is going to keep changing as more people want it around the world, and new ethical and
legal issues will come up. It's really important that the ongoing reforms take into account the rights and
protections of everyone involved, especially surrogate mothers and children. This way, we can make sure that
surrogacy practices are done ethically and with respect for human dignity.

You might also like