- Research/Scholar Paper name – “Indian Perspective on Surrogacy: A Battle of Law and Ethics”
- Author: Vandana Kumari
- Institution: Guest faculty at Patna Law College, Patna University
- Co-Author: Abhishek Mishra
- Institution: LLM, Patna Law College, Patna University
- Affiliation: Centre for Study of Contemporary Legal Issues
- Date of Publication: 06/07/2021
Abstract:
Surrogacy is a practice that enables a couple or an individual, unable to bear a child to experience parenthood. India is referred to as the hub of surrogacy. It is the most desired destination for those who want to undergo the procedure. A “surrogate mother” is a woman who, for financial or other reasons, agrees to bear a child for another woman who is incapable to conceive herself.
However, with the recent developments in the Indian legislative front, there appears to be an attempt by the government to make commercial surrogacy illegal in India. A bill was passed in 2019 in Lok Sabha and is, at present, pending in Rajya Sabha, which aims at banning commercial surrogacy. This paper mainly focuses on whether this legislative step of banning commercial surrogacy would be right for India and the role of the Indian judicial system in matters of surrogacy. With briefly introducing what is surrogacy, the paper moves on to clarify the meaning and concept of surrogacy. The paper also touches upon the aspect of surrogacy as an ethical practice as seen in ancient times. The paper is concluded by putting forth the various points for criticism of The Surrogacy bill 2019 and some suggestions and recommendations for making the bill more inclusive.