Parliamentary panel invites suggestions on bill to ban commercial surrogacy

A parliamentary panel which is examining a bill seeking to ban commercial surrogacy has invited suggestions on the legislation from all stakeholders. The Rajya Sabha Chairman has also granted extension upto July 11 to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare for a report on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016.

The bill was introduced in in Lok Sabha in November 2016. In January 2017, the Rajya Sabha Chairman referred the legislation, as introduced in the Lok Sabha, to the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare for examination and a report on it.

The panel was supposed to submit its report on April 11. Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare is presently examining the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 and has decided to invite memoranda thereon, according to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

The legislation proposes to regulate surrogacy in India, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to needy infertile Indian couples. According to the bill, surrogacy is a practice where awoman gives birth to a child for an intending couple and agrees to hand over the child to them after birth.

Under this bill, homosexuals, single parents, and live in couples are also not entitled for surrogacy. Also couples who already have children will not be allowed to go for surrogacy, though they would be free toadopt a child under a separate law.

The bill allows surrogacy only for legally married couples after five years of marriage and with a doctors certificate stating that they are medically unfit to reproduce.

Women within the age group of 23 to 50 years and men between 26 to 55 years will be eligible to opt for surrogacy. To check commercial exploitation and middlemen, the surrogate mother can only be a close relative, like a sister or sister-in-law who is married and has at least one healthy biological child. A woman can be a surrogate only once in her lifetime.