No commercial surrogacy: Centre

The Centre on Wednesday made it clear in the Supreme Court that commercial surrogacy, where foreigners hire a womb in India to get a surrogate child, won’t be allowed.

In an affidavit, filed in a petition relating to determination of citizenship of a surrogate child born to a foreign couple, the Centre also said the scope of surrogacy will be limited to Indian-married, fertile couples only and not to foreign couples who want a surrogate child by entering into commercial contract with a surrogate mother.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana granted further time till November 24 to the Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to file another affidavit giving the status of the response of the states.

The Centre said the Assisted Reproductive Techniques (regulation) Bill to regulate commercial surrogacy along with model guidelines has been sent to various States for comments. The comments will be formulated while framing the law.

On the Union government’s notification dated December 2, 2013, permitting import of human embryo, the Centre said a fresh notification was issued on October 16 that import of embryo will not be allowed for commercial surrogacy but to be limited for research.

The Centre said issues of parentage in surrogacy agreements will be settled in the draft law in consultation with various ministries.

The other issues to be settled in the law are: whether surrogacy involves sale of a child since the surrogate mother relinquishes her right for money; whether commercial surrogacy amounts to renting of a womb and whether commercial surrogacy contract is immoral and opposed to public policy.

The Centre said in the agreement/contract, provision will be made to penalize those commissioning couple who fail to take custody of the child born with disabilities of any nature. In case they fail to take custody of the child, adequate safeguard will be made in the law, which will be a comprehensive legal framework not only to protect the rights of surrogate mother but also prohibiting commercial/business surrogacy.