8, August, 2019
According to Dr. Pascoal Carvalho, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 passed by India’s lower house of parliament on Monday, is morally unacceptable even though it claims to protect women and children.By Robin GomesA bill banning commercial surrogacy was introduced in the upper house of Indian parliament on Monday after gaining the approval of the lower house.Altruistic surrogacyThe Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 allows “ethical altruistic surrogacy†to the intending infertile Indian married couple, between the age of 23 and 50 years for the female and 26 and 55 years for the male.The Bill says the surrogate mother must be a relative of the couple seeking surrogacy who offers her womb for altruistic motives without any compensation except for medical expenses and her insurance coverage. Foreigners, Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cannot avail of the provision. Neither can singles, homosexuals, live-in couples, and married couples who already have children.Also, a woman can be a surrogate only once in her lifetime.The bill was passed by the lower house in December 2018 but lapsed as it failed to get the approval of the upper house.Safeguarding women, children?The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which framed the Bill, says that the new law will not only protect women from abuse but will also ensure legal rights and protection of children of surrogacy.The child, thus born, will be deemed to be the legal offspring of the intended couple.“A rough estimate says there are about 2,000-3000 surrogacy clinics running illegally in the country and a few thousand foreign couples resort to surrogacy practice within India and the whole issue is thoroughly unregulated,†Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, emphasizing the need to keep a check on surrogacy to prevent exploitation of women.Surrogacy morally unacceptableDespite all these claims by the government, any form of surrogacy is morally unacceptable says Dr. Pascoal Carvalho of Mumbai.