Surrogracy and Its Related Issues in Indian Society

SURROGRACY AND ITS RELATED ISSUES IN INDIAN SOCIETY
The word surrogate originally is from a Latin word surrogates meaning

substitution, to act in the place of. In general surrogacy is the practice when a
woman carries a baby for another couple with an intention that child should be
handed over after birth. In other words “is a woman who agrees to have an
embryo generated from the sperm of a man who is not her husband, and the
oocyte for another woman implanted in her to carry the pregnancy to full term
and deliver the child to its biological parents(s)”.Here, surrogacy comes as an
alternative to have a child when the infertile woman or couple is not able to
reproduce.
There are mainly three main broad types of surrogacy:
Traditional Surrogacy: In this a woman provides her own egg for artificial
insemination by using the sperm of the intended father.
Gestational Surrogacy: This sort of surrogacy involves the creation of an embryo

in a Petri dish, which is fertilized to another woman who carries the fetus and give
birth to a child for another person.
Donor Surrogacy: There is no genetic relation between the child and intended
parents, the surrogate is inseminated with the sperm of an outside donor.
Conditions required for surrogacy in india
•A surrogacy agreement should be entered into by the couple or the individual

who wish to surrogacy and the surrogate mother, which is legally enforceable.
•The intending couple must be 21 years of age to avail the ART Treatment in
India, the gamete donor must be 21 years of the age to be a donor.
• The limit for bearing a child is only 5 per surrogate mother, including her own
children.
•The Bill also provides for Foreign Intending couple or non-resident Indian
individual or couple, to avail ART Treatment in India.
To, understand the context of surrogacy in India, we must begin with the fact,
while the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 banned the sale of human
organs. This is due to a medical industry that welcomes profitable international
ventures like "reproductive tourism", even when infertility constitutes a small
segment of domestic priorities. Since, the Supreme Court of India in the case
of Baby Majhi Yamada v. Union Of India held that the commercial surrogacy is
legal in India. The biggest impact of the Baby Manji Yamada decision has been
that it spurred the government of India to enact a law regulating surrogacy. The
ever-rising prevalence of infertility world over has lead to advancement of
assisted reproductive techniques (ART). India has emerged as an international
centre for surrogacy due to its lower cost and lack of strict laws. But has also
challenged the traditional concept of family. “Surrogacy by opening up ‘family’ to
single women and queer couples has changed the constitution of family” to
established heterosexual-parented family as single parent or homosexual
family. Surrogacy introduces a third party interference with a natural process
thereby violation of God’s will. Many religious groups deem surrogacy as
“mechanical adultery” for such inclusion.
It does not stand on the moral, ethical grounds and are used as a commercial
reproductive capacity. Commercial surrogacy also creates a social stigma for
surrogate mothers. They are treated as prostitutes with the consideration that
they are using their private parts to earn money, which makes them socially
unacceptable in society. Society denies them the acceptance. Not only this the
surrogate children also faces emotional and psychological difficulties.
Another issue that connects with surrogacy is that it has made motherhood or
pregnancy another source of commercial avenue ( particularly for poor women)
popularly termed as womb renting business wherein women’s bodies are offered
in market , subject to commercial hiring under a contract. In the given socio
economic context of India, this generate disturbing socio legal, ethical trends.
Surrogacy further perpetuates the inequality of rich and poor or the economic
class division in society, as in the process the poor women bears child for rich
women who are in financial position to avail the services of former but not vice
versa. Surrogacy is turning urban cities with the flourishing of infertility clinics into
centers of reproductive tourism or sources of outsourced pregnancy or
reproductive labour. It has been reported that there is an increase in the number
and incidence of young under age women as nearing twenties resorting to being
egg donor, surrogate mothers for want of money in cities. It may be noted that
this is a violation of the ICMR Guidelines which stipulate the minimum age as
twenty one years to be either surrogate mother or egg donor in India.
It is shocking to know that the society which denies to accept both the surrogate
mother socially are looking forward to idea of surrogacy. It is becoming an
alternative for infertile woman or couple who are not able to reproduce, leaving
the idea of adoption behind. When there are nearly 12 million orphan children in
India. India has a lengthy procedure for adoption thus making the idea more
difficult. There is a strong need to modify and make the adoption procedure
simple for all. This will bring down the rates of surrogacy. However, this is a new
technique and blessing to the infertile couple. Surrogacy being legal in India is a
good step by the government for those who can’t reproduce and a financial
support for the surrogate mothers. Also, surrogacy has to be essentially coloured
by moral and ethical overtones. It is important to socially understand and
implicate surrogate motherhood in Indian society. As surrogacy is gaining
popularity in society, it is also ushering changes and transformation in family
structure. The Indian society needs to accept this changes and move forward.
References
 18 IJAMH-1128-DR. REENA DEVI CHANDEL

https://www.researchtrend.net/ijamh/pdf/Surrogacy%20and%20Women%20in%20India%20Issues
%20and%20Perspectives%2018%20DR%20REENA%20CHANDEL.pdf
 Surrogacy Law in India | Comprehensive Analysis
https://www.legalbites.in/surrogacy-law-in-india/
 Sociological Understanding & Implications of Surrogate Motherhood in Indian Societies
https://writingsonsurrogacy.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/sociological-understanding-
implications-of-surrogate-motherhood-in-indian-societies/
 Surrogacy its impact & implications on society and social institutions
https://writingsonsurrogacy.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/surrogacy-its-impact-implications-on-
society-and-social-institutions/
 Surrogacy- Legal and Ethical Issues
https://lawescort.in/2019/07/surrogacy-legal-and-ethical-issues/

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SURROGRACY AND ITS RELATED ISSUES IN INDIAN SOCIETY

The word surrogate originally is from a Latin word surrogates meaning

There are mainly three main broad types of surrogacy:

Gestational Surrogacy: This sort of surrogacy involves the creation of an embryo

Conditions required for surrogacy in india

•A surrogacy agreement should be entered into by the couple or the individual

 18 IJAMH-1128-DR. REENA DEVI CHANDEL

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