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The debates around the Surrogacy Act:

GS Paper 2:

Syllabus: Government Policies and issues arising out of their implementation.

 

Context:

Petitioners in the Delhi High Court questioned why marital status, age, or gender were the criteria for being allowed to commission or not commission surrogacy in India.

 

What’s the issue?

  • Under the provisions of the Surrogacy Act, a petitioner, who is married, was denied a chance at commissioning surrogacy.
  • As per the Surrogacy Act, a married couple can opt for surrogacy only on medical grounds.
  • The law says the couple should not have a child of their own.

 

Overview of the Surrogacy Act, 2021:

It came into effect in January this year.

  • It allows ‘altruistic surrogacy’ — wherein only the medical expenses and insurance coverage is provided by the couple to the surrogate mother during pregnancy.
  • Creates a national board to lay down and implement a code of conduct for people working at IVF clinics.
  • It intends to make genetic testing of the embryo mandatory before implantation for the benefit of the child born through ART.
  • It also seeks to streamline the cryo-preservation processes for sperm, oocytes and embryos.
  • It also proposes to constitute a national registry and registration authority to maintain a central database and assist the national board in its functioning.

 

Eligibility conditions to make use of the services of a surrogate mother:

  • Any couple that has ‘proven infertility’.
  • The couple should be Indian citizens who have been married for at least five years.
  • The female must be between 23 to 50 years and the male, 26 to 55 years.
  • They cannot have any surviving children (biological, adopted or surrogate); However, this would not include a ‘child who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life threatening disorder or fatal illness.’

 

Who can be a surrogate mother?

Only a close relative of the couple can be a surrogate mother, one who is able to provide a medical fitness certificate. She should have been married, with a child of her own, and must be between 25 and 35 years, but can be a surrogate mother only once.

 

Need for a Surrogacy Act in India:

India has emerged as a hub for infertility treatment. This attracted many underprivileged women to rent their wombs in exchange for money. However, unscrupulous middle men started exploiting such women. This called for a proper regulation.

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. ART Bill.
  2. Key features.
  3. Benifits.
  4. Surrogacy Bill.

Mains Link:

Discuss the concerns associated with the Surrogacy Bill.

 

Q. 2) Consider the following statements regarding the Surrogacy Act, 2021:

  1. It allows ‘altruistic surrogacy’ only.
  2. It proposes to constitute a national registry.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. 1 only.
  2. 2 only.
  3. Both.
  4. None.

Sources: the Hindu.