Surrogacy - Legislative Developments & National Guidelines of Surrogacy in India

Article Index
Surrogacy
TYPES OF SURROGACY
WHO MIGHT OPT FOR SURROGACY
SCREENING CRITERIA FOR SURROGATE
PROTOCOLS ADOPTED FOR SURROGACY
PROCEDURAL DETAILS WITH INDIAN SURROGATE.
National Guidelines OF SURROGACY IN INDIA
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Legislative Developments & National Guidelines of Surrogacy in India

No surprisingly surrogacy agreements have posed a series of social, ethical and legal issues, which needs to be carefully evaluated. This evaluation must be read in the backdrop of the conservative attitude of the people on this issue. While countries like U.K., Australia, and the U.S.A. have taken efforts to legislate in this regard, in India, the medical fraternity too has been trying hard to lobby for the formalization of National Guidelines governing such arrangements.

The National Guidelines have a separate segment outlining the rights of the child. Once born, he or she is treated as the legitimate child of the infertile couple. In order to avoid psychologically devastating consequences, the Guidelines provide for non-disclosure of the identity of third party donors especially if the children are under 18 years of age. In case of inquisitive children this restriction has been relaxed, to prevent any form of identity crisis.

Moreover, the National Guidelines lay down that before allowing a woman to be a surrogate, the ART clinics must certify that she is medically fit to undertake such a responsibility. The clinics are to take special measures to ensure that she is not an AIDS carrier. This has been done to prevent congenital diseases.

The Guidelines further lay down that a HIV positive woman shall out rightly not be refused treatment by ART clinics. Instead, would be redirected to appropriate counseling service centers where she shall be informed about the potential hazards it may cause to the unborn child].

A key factor complicating reform of the commercial surrogacy industry is the lack of capacity in current Indian law to address emerging issues. This is an outgrowth of the government’s enthusiastic promotion of a business climate that is friendly to the medical tourism industry, which was founded on the outsourcing model pioneered in other industries in India. At both the national and the state level, the Indian government promotes the country’s reputation as a premier destination for medical tourism, 9 because the industry serves as a driver of economic growth as well as an income generator for the state in the form of tax revenue. The absence of industry regulation attracts patients and keeps fertility treatment costs low.

The legitimizing of reproductive processes, like surrogacy, means legitimizing its outcome too. Therefore, the law not only has to adapt to the new technology, but has to meet the challenge of marrying the old with the new without unsettling what we hold dear.