A fortnight after the Mumbai police sent letters to three high profile surrogacy clinics in Mumbai for the alleged violation of visa norms, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has set up a probe.
The police had sent letters to three clinics - Rotunda Fertility Clinic, Corion Fertility Clinic, and the surrogacy clinic in Lilavati hospital.
“After being informed by the police we are probing if there was any violation. A two member committee has been set up to formulate guidelines on surrogacy procedures,” MMC president Dr. Kishore Taori told The Hindu .
The Mumbai police’s special branch, the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) had found that these clinics were allegedly allowing foreign clients to travel to India for surrogacy procedures on a tourist visa as against the required the medical visa. None of the clinics were available for comment.
In 2012 the Union Government through a notification had said that couples applying for surrogacy should travel on medical visa. It also stated that gay couples and single parents from abroad cannot seek surrogacy in India. These rules were framed after the death of an underage surrogate mother in August 2010.
The MMC committee comprises of two senior gynaecologists- Dr.Sanjay Gupte and Dr. Bipin Pandit. They will submit the report by mid-May.
“Many see India as a place where surrogacy can be carried out without following any procedures. One of the reasons behind this problem is lack of legislation on surrogacy and therefore we hope that the recommendations made by the committee dwell into all the aspects,” Dr. Taori added. The report will be submitted to the Maharashtra government for further action.
