Producer-director Karan Johar, who became father to twins through surrogacy on Sunday, could be among the last of single men and women who can do so, as the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 passed by the Union Cabinet in August last year bans single men, women and gay couples from opting for surrogacy.
The draft Bill, currently pending with the parliamentary committee, also puts an end to commercial surrogacy and allows it only in an altruistic form without any monetary benefit to the surrogate mother, who has to be a blood relative.
Mr. Johar’s babies were delivered at Masrani Hospital in Andheri, while the surrogacy procedure was carried out by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) specialist Dr. Jatin Shah, who runs a clinic on Grant Road. Dr. Shah is one of the few IVF specialists who continue to carry out surrogacy for single parents; most doctors have discontinued doing so after the draft Bill was passed. In fact, the last such surrogacy was carried out for actor Tusshar Kapoor, who became father of a boy in June 2016.
Draconian law: docs
According to the draft Bill, only a blood relative aged 25 to 35 years can become a surrogate. The woman also has to be married and should have a child of her own. Doctors say there are so many limitations in the Bill that surrogacy will practically disappear when it comes into place.
The law not only bans singles and homosexuals from having surrogate children, it also makes it difficult for heterosexual couples with medical indication for surrogacy. “How many of your blood relatives will opt to carry out a pregnancy for you? Especially in the age group of 23 to 35? The government is forcing intending parents to go abroad for the procedure. Those who can afford it, like Karan Johar, can do it but lakhs of Indian couples who don’t have the money are going to suffer,” said Dr. Nayana Patel, a surrogacy specialist from Anand, Gujarat. She added that intending parents will head to the US, Ukraine and Georgia, where it is legal. “India had an opportunity to be a world leader in this field. Instead, the government has taken a regressive step with the draconian law,” said Dr Patel.
Doctors say the law will send surrogacy underground, and there will always be possibilities of blackmail within families. “Just like it used to happen with organ donation, what is the guarantee that mothers-in-law or other vulnerable women in the family will not be emotionally blackmailed into this?” a doctor said, adding that instead of banning commercial surrogacy, the government could have worked towards regularising it. They also said a large percentage of surrogacies are medically intended, while cases of single men or women are negligible.
Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, Secretary General, Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), said they were in process of submitting a representation to the parliamentary committee. “We need to arrive at a consensus and come out with a good law,” said Dr. Pai. He said 95% of doctors have already stopped commercial surrogacy after the draft Bill was passed.
The draft Bill also bans egg donation. In the cases of Mr. Kapoor and Mr. Johar, while the sperm was their own, a donor egg was used. Doctors say donor eggs are required for heterosexual couples as well. “There are many women who have low quality eggs, due to which they are unable to conceive. In such cases, we use the husband’s sperm and a donor egg,” Dr. Pai said.
