The surrogacy Bill that got the Union Cabinet nod on Wednesday has riled surrogacy law experts and doctors alike who pointed out that the government cannot be interfering with a woman’s reproductive rights, nor can it view this infertility treatment option through the lens of morality.
Gynaecologists and infertility specialists also took offence to surrogacy being equated with indulgence as they said it is most often the last resort for people wanting a child. The draft Bill bans renting a womb for money and allows it only if the woman is doing so for altruistic reasons, which surrogacy experts dubbed illogical and unreasonable.
‘Violation of right’“Surrogacy cannot be seen as illegal and immoral. The draft Bill is both draconian and unreasonable. It is a violation of the reproductive right of the surrogate mother,” said Hari G Ramasubramanian, surrogacy law expert and founder of Indian Surrogacy Law Centre and Gift Life Egg bank, Chennai. He questioned: “How many people actually have someone who will be willing to be a surrogate.”
Mr. Ramasubramanian said the draft Bill even banned egg donation that would only ensure that a sizeable number of people seeking IVF treatment would not be able to take it up now. He said he had clients who did not have a uterus or had a medical condition that prevented them from conceiving and the government was taking away from them their last shot at parenthood.
‘Service with a cost’Besides, surrogacy should be viewed as a service available at a cost. “What is wrong in paying a woman for this service? They are not exploited,” said infertility specialist with P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Dr. Indira Hinduja, who delivered Mumbai’s first test tube baby. She said the surrogate women were screened, tested and taken care of during their pregnancies. “These are needy women. They want money for their houses, for their children’s education. This was their only option to overcome their problem,” Dr. Hinduja said. She feared that the Bill, if enacted, could only give rise to malpractices.
A surrogate mother in Mumbai gets paid Rs. 2 lakh-3 lakh on average and if she delivers twins, her remuneration is Rs. 4 lakh to 5 lakh. The cost of surrogacy to a couple ranges from Rs. 12 lakh to 16 lakh or upwards. A battery of tests is run on the surrogate, who is screened not only for gynaecological conditions but also for various lifestyle diseases — a medical examination that doctors say the woman would have never been able to afford.
Blaming celebritiesWhat has got the goat of gynaecologists further is the mention of celebrities opting for surrogacy. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday that it had become a trend of sorts for celebrities with children to go for a surrogate child.
“So what if a person goes for surrogacy? So what if a couple has children? If you can afford it and can bring up a child, why is going for surrogacy wrong then? And what is wrong with being a single parent,” said Kiran Coelho, head of the Department of Gynaecology at Lilavati Hospital. She said when celebrities go for surrogacy they inadvertently inform people that this was an option that was possible.
Dr. Coelho said surrogacy was a cost-intensive option and was used by a select number of people who could afford it. “Besides, the government should not interfere with women’s right to her body,” she said.
Social concernsHowever, there are social concerns. If Mr. Ramasubramanian apprehends childless couples breaking up, Duru Shah, president-elect of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, fears another social malaise. While she welcomed the Cabinet’s clearing the Bill, she wondered: “The only outcome we will need to look at will be on how many women will agree to bear someone’s child for nine months for altruistic reasons without any advantage? Could there be the possibility of coercion of daughters-in-law in families.”
