INDIA SURROGACY LAWS
Surrogacy law in India is still in the premature stage and is coping up with the world position. India is part of the club of very few countries who have permitted Commercial Surrogacy. That is now quite a good affair. A lot of Indian women are getting benefited, likewise are the intended parents from all over the world. I am sure that this is a great step forward. It’s a win-win situation for both.
Though the surrogacy world is quite lawless, there is the ICMR regulation which provides a lot of clarity in the procedure by which surrogacy should be done. Moreover, The Supreme Court of India, the Apex Judicial forum has decided that commercial surrogacy is completely legal in India and held the contract enforceable. These are great steps forward in the field of surrogacy. There are ICMR guidelines, 2005 to regulate surrogacy, which will remain in force until the specific act comes in place.
ICMR guidelines for surrogacy:
• A surrogate mother can be procured through law firms or semen banks. All semen banks or law firms require accreditation. However, negotiations between the couple and the surrogate mother must be conducted independently.
• Payments of surrogate mothers should cover all genuine expenses associated with pregnancy. Documentary evidence of financial arrangement for surrogacy must be available.
• Advertisement regarding surrogacy should not be made through the Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) clinic. The responsibility of finding a surrogate mother, through advertisements or otherwise, should rest with the couple, or a semen bank.
• A surrogate mother should not be over 45 years of age. Before accepting a woman as a possible surrogate for a particular couple’s child, the ART clinic must ensure (and put on record) that the woman satisfies all treatable criteria to go through a successful full-term pregnancy.
n Indian context, a known person as well as a person unknown to the couple may act as a surrogate mother. In case of a relative acting as a surrogate mother, she should belong to the same generation as the woman desiring the surrogate.
• No woman may act as a surrogate more than thrice in her lifetime