Single Mothers Can Avail Surrogacy; Not Just Close Relative, Any 'Willing' Woman Can Act As One
The Rajya Sabha select committee led by Bhupender Yadav reviewed the proposed legislation and said the restriction that a surrogate mother should be a close relative should be removed. The committee has also advocated that single Indian woman like a widow or a divorcee in the age group of 35 to 45 years may also be allowed to avail surrogacy. The panel has also suggested increasing the insurance cover for the surrogate mother from proposed 16 mon...Read More
Not only close relatives but any woman who is "willing" should be allowed to act as a surrogate, a parliamentary panel said, adopting a practical view on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019.
The panel also said a single woman, such as a widow, a divorcee, or a person of Indian origin (PIO) should be allowed to avail of surrogacy.
The Rajya Sabha select committee led by Bhupender Yadav reviewed the proposed legislation and said the restriction that a surrogate mother should be a close relative should be removed as it potentially restricts the availability of surrogate mothers and thus affects genuinely needy persons.
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The committee has also advocated that 'single Indian woman' like a widow or a divorcee in the age group of 35 to 45 years may also be allowed to avail surrogacy.
The 15 major changes suggested by the 23-member select committee of Rajya Sabha to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, also include deleting the definition of 'infertility' as the inability to conceive after five years of unprotected intercourse on the ground that it was too long a period for a couple to wait for a child.
The Committee recommended that "a willing woman shall act as surrogate mother and be permitted to undergo surrogacy procedures as per the provisions of this Act."
The panel has also suggested increasing the insurance cover for the surrogate mother from proposed 16 months to 36 months.
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The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 is yet to be passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The committee held 10 meetings since the Bill was referred to it by the Rajya Sabha on November 21, 2019.
Chairman of the committee Bhupender Yadav presented the report on Wednesday.
Regarding the eligibility criteria for availing surrogacy procedure, the committee recommended removing the provision of requirement of five years as the period of inability to conceive before opting for the procedure.
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It noted that there may be certain proven medical conditions like absence of uterus by birth, non-functional uterus, removal of uterus due to cancer, fibroids etc or patients with chronic medical condition where normal pregnancy is ruled out and it is medically proven beyond any doubt that surrogacy is the only option.
The panel further observed that the requirement of obtaining certificate of proven infertility is not at all justified in such cases.
With the proposed deletion of the definition of 'infertility', needy persons can avail surrogacy any time on the basis of a certificate of medical indication requiring gestational surrogacy, it said.
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"There are conditions under which a single person genuinely needs to avail surrogacy option to have child. One such situation is a young aged widow, who is otherwise capable but cannot carry child because of fear of social stigma attached to pregnancy of widow in our society," the panel noted.
The panel also proposed that a provision be included in the Bill allowing persons of Indian origin (PIOs) to avail surrogacy in the country after obtaining a certificate of recommendation from the Surrogacy Boards.
In order to protect the interest of the child born through surrogacy, the committee recommended that the order regarding parentage and custody of child to be issued by a Magistrate shall be the birth affidavit of surrogate child.
In July 2019, the government introduced the bill to ban commercial surrogacy.