*Draft bill on surrogacy cleared:*
A draft bill which aims to regulate surrogacy and safeguard surrogate mothers was cleared today.
According to the Health Ministry proposal, the draft Surrogacy Bill, 2016 looks to regulate commissioning surrogacy in India and also make parentage of such children legal.
A Group of Ministers which was constituted at the behest of PMO, and comprising of Health Minister J P Nadda, Food Processing Industries Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had cleared the draft earlier.
1. It bans commercial surrogacy.
The health ministry has proposed to amend the surrogacy laws in India because of increase in commercial surrogacy in India. Instead of putting into place checks and balances for this growing industry, the government has proposed simply banning it.
2. Foreigner nationals can’t get Indian surrogate mothers.
The bill effectively bans foreigners to seek an Indian surrogate mother. This includes non-resident Indians (NRIs).
3. It legalises surrogacy for infertile Indian couples.
The proposed law allows heterosexual married Indian couples with “proven infertility” to try the surrogacy route. This will, by omission, keep out any homosexual couples as the law does not cover them, as well as live-in partners, and single men and women who might want a surrogate child.
4. The length of marriage matters.
A couple has to be married for at least five years before approaching a surrogate mother, according to the proposed legislation. Further, the woman has to be between 23-50 years of age and the man should be 26-55 years old.
5. One can’t pay a surrogate mother.
If you’re a heterosexual married couple who have proven infertility, and you find someone who agrees to be a surrogate mother, you can’t pay her. You can pay for any and all of her medical bills, but that’s all.
6. One can only approach a close relative for surrogacy.
If you’re a heterosexual couple who have proven infertility, and you have found someone who agrees to be a surrogate mother without payment, you have to make sure that person is a “close relative”.
7. If already have a child, can’t try for another one.
If you have a child already, or you adopted a child in the past, you can’t approach a surrogate mother.
8. Surrogacy will be allowed only once.
If you already have a surrogate child, you cannot approach a surrogate mother a second time. And if someone has been a surrogate mother once in the past, they cannot do so again.
9. Surrogacy regulatory bodies.
The government has proposed that it will establish a National Surrogacy Board at the central level, chaired by the health minister, and State Surrogacy Boards and appropriate authorities in the states and union territories.
