Policy on anvil for protection of surrogate mothers: Govt

Releasing the Draft National Policy for Women 2016, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, while referring to controversies surrounding surrogate motherhood on Tuesday, said: “The Surrogacy Bill is under consideration but at present we do have guidelines regarding surrogacy which are being implemented.”

“Eventually a law for surrogacy will be in place. The point is, once we make this policy we might as well take in such positive things that will eventually be included in the Surrogacy Bill,” she said. Recently a controversy had erupted after a seventy year-old woman in Punjab had given birth to her first child through surrogacy.

Surrogate motherhood has been a popular theme in Bollywood movies as well. Filhaal, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke and the recent Tanu weds Manu Returns have highlighted this issue beautifully.

Regarding protection of rights for a surrogate mother, the Draft National Policy for Women 2016 proposes: “As assisted reproduction pregnancies are more risky due to the rate of multiple births and the risk of infection, healthcare coverage will be provided to the surrogate during the pregnancy, during- post-pregnancy checkups and treatments that follow.”

The proposed policy also states: “As more women are taking the recourse of artificial reproductive techniques, efforts will be made to ensure the rights of these women adopting these techniques that is surrogate mothers, commissioning mother along with children born as a result will be protected.” These significant recommendations in the policy can be included in the Bill on Surrogacy.

Currently surrogacy is a multi-billion dollar booming industry in India and we have no specific law for surrogacy in India to curtail malpractices. 

As of now fertility clinics are following the guidelines issued by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). Recently the ICMR, under the Ministry of Health issued fresh guidelines which have banned surrogacy for foreign couples giving preference to Indians. 

Regarding legislation on the issue, presently a draft Surrogacy Bill — The Assisted Reproductive Techniques (Regulation) Bill 2014 — is being prepared and needs to be passed by Parliament to be eventually made into a law.