Why in news?
Lok Sabha recently passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016.
What is the need?
- Surrogacy is the practice where a woman agrees to give birth to a baby (usually by artificial insemination or surgical implantation) on behalf of another couple.
- Annually, surrogacy is a $2.3 billion industry across India, fed by lack of regulation and poverty.
- Around 2,000-odd babies were born per year through commercial surrogacy (on payment).
- There have been several reports about the exploitation of surrogate mothers.
- They were kept confined in hostels during pregnancy and not allowed to meet their families.
- Some women were doing it repeatedly for a paltry amount thus putting their own bodies at risk.
- The 228th report of the Law Commission had recommended prohibition of commercial surrogacy - allowed only in Russia, Ukraine and California.
What are the provisions in the new Bill?
- The Bill seeks to put an end to commercial surrogacy - payment to a surrogate mother is punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment.
- The Bill allows only altruistic surrogacy (by relatives) for married couples.
- It allows surrogacy to intending infertile Indian married couples between the ages of 23-50 (female) and 26-55 (male).
- It limits the option to only legally married childless couples who have been trying for a child for at least 5 years.
- The commissioning couple cannot have a surviving child, either biological or adopted.
- But this is except when they have a child who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from a life-threatening disorder with no permanent cure.
- The Bill also has safeguards built in against sex selection of the baby.
- The Bill requires all surrogacy clinics to be registered.
- Clinics can charge for these services but the surrogate mother cannot be paid.
- The national and state surrogacy boards will be the regulating authorities.
What are the changes made?
- The Surrogacy Bill was cleared by the Cabinet in 2016.
- It was subsequently referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee (Health & Family Welfare) before its passage.
- There are changes in the presently-passed Bill from the earlier version.
- The earlier version provided for a minimum jail term of 10 years for some offences; the present one sets a maximum of 10 years.
- The present Bill -
- forbids the surrogate mother to use her own gametes (eggs)
- gives her the option to withdraw before the embryo is implanted
- puts a condition for obtaining a “certificate of essentiality” by the intending couple
- The couple must also provide a 16-month insurance coverage for the surrogate mother including postpartum complications.
- The Bill did not make several changes sought by the Standing Committee.
What are the rejected recommendations?
- The Supreme Court had recognised live-in relationships.
- Citing this, the Committee had recommended that the government broadbase the eligibility criteria for surrogacy.
- It called for widening the ambit of persons who can avail surrogacy services by including live-in couples, divorced women/widows.
- It had also countered the “altruistic surrogacy for married couples” argument.
- It thus recommended that compensation be the norm and the word altruistic should be replaced with compensated.
Source: Indian Express
