Commercial Surrogacy in India: An Overview
Author : Neha TiwariVolume 8 No.2 April-June 2019 pp 35-41
Abstract
Commercial surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry a person (s) child and is paid for her services which is beyond medical expenses associated with the pregnancy. It can be gestational as well as genetic. Though it has been supported on the grounds that it helps both the childless couple and the surrogate, it has also been criticized on the grounds that it exploits the surrogates. In the year 2002 commercial surrogacy was legalized in India. With time India emerged as the hub of commercial surrogacy for primarily four reasons. Firstly, low cost. Secondly, world class medical facilities. Thirdly, easily available surrogates and lastly, lenient rules and regulations. With time many cases begun to emerge in which different stakeholders were harassed due to the lack of codified laws. On 19th December 2018, the Indian state passed a bill banning commercial surrogacy. The paper attempts to trace the journey of commercial surrogacy in India.
Keywords
Surrogacy, Genetic, Gestational, Banned, Stakeholders
Full Text:
References
[1] Chaudhary, & Akila Cyra. (2015). The Political Economy and Legal Regulation of Transnational Commercial Surrogate Labour. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational, 48(1), 1-65.
[2] Chaterjee, Beni. (2018, December 29). Government should not be in haste to implement surrogacy laws. Sunday Guardian Times. Retrieved from: https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news/ government-shouldnt-haste-implement-surrogacy-laws
[3] Choudhary, Amit Anand. (2015, October 15). SC Surrogates Ban on Commercial Surrogacy. The Times of India. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-suggests-ban-on-commercial-surrogacy/articleshow/ 49365734.cms
[4] Drabiak, K, Wegner C, Fredland V & Helft, PR (2007). Ethics, Law, and Commercial Surrogacy: A Call for Uniformity. The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 35(2), 300-309. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00139.x
[5] Majumdar, Anindita. (2018, December 24). What is Altruistic Surrogacy. The Hindu. Retrieved from: https://www.thehindu.com/ opinion/op-ed/what-is-altruistic-surrogacy/article25814445.ece
[6] Merrick, Janna C. (1990). Selling Reproductive Rights: Policy Issues in Surrogate Motherhood. Politics and the Life Sciences, 8(2), 161-172. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0730938400009709
[7] Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. (2018). India in Figures. India
[8] Niekerk, Anton van & Zyl, Liezk van. (1995). The Ethics of Surrogacy: Women’s Reproductive Labour. Journal of Medical Ethics, 21(6), 345-349.
[9] Nussbaum, & Martha C. (1998). Whether from Reason or Prejudice: Taking Money for Bodily Services. The Journal of Legal Studies, 27(S2), 693-723.
[10] Pande, & Amrita. (2010). At Least I am Not Sleeping with Anyone: Resisting the Stigma of Commercial Surrogacy in India. Feminist Studies, 36(2), 292-312
[11] Poverty and Equity Data Portal. (n.d). The World Bank. Retrieved from http://povertydata.worldbank. org/poverty/country/IND
[12] Rai, S. (2010, September 21). Designer babies, with an Indian twist. Public Radio International. Retrieved from: https://www. pri.org/ stories/2010-09-21/designer-babies-indian-twist
[13] Sharma, & Neetu C. (2018, December 20th). Lok Sabha passes surrogacy bill in likely boost for adoption in India. Livemint. Retrieved from: https://www.livemint.com/ Politics/hARv5 G5wm1Fo2QQqQ43I3J/Lok-Sabha-passes-surrogacy-bill-in-likely-boost-for-adoption.html
[14] Surrogate Mom Alleges Underpayment by Private Hospital After Delivery of Twins. (2015, July 14th) The New Indian Express. Retrieved from: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/ chennai/2015/jul/14/Surrogate-Mom-Alleges-Underpayment-by-Private-Hospital-After-Delivery-of-Twins-783625.html
[15] The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. (n.d) UN Women. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/ platform/
[16] Wadekar, & Neha. (2011). Wombs for Rent: A Bioethical Analysis of Commercial Surrogacy in India. Tuftscope The Journal of Health, Ethics and Policy (online), 10(3), Retrieved from: http://www. nehawadekar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Neha-Wadekar_Writing-Sample-1_Surrogacy- Published.pdf
[17] Watson, & Clara. (2016). Womb Rentals and Baby-Selling: Does Surrogacy Undermine the Human Dignity and Rights of the Surrogate Mother and Child. The New Bioethics, 22(3), 212-228. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/20502877.2016.1238582
[18] Women and Poverty. (n.d) .UN Women. Retrieved from: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/end-violence-against-women/2014/ poverty