Banning commercial surrogacy is wrong

Instead ensure that poor women are not duped and put in any medical danger

Surrogacy in India is heavily weighted in favour of the client and this is one reason why it is seen by experts as devaluing women and compromising their health. No surprise that the Cabinet has approved moving official amendments to ban commercial surrogacy in India and provide ethical assistance to needy infertile couples. But it must be asked what impact bans have on the surrogacy business. It is not known how many hospitals or clinics provide surrogacy services, which bring in large sums of money every year. So it stands to reason that these clinics will find a way out, one being moving the mother to another country where the laws are not so stringent. This puts the woman at risk as they are then at the mercy of local touts who are engaged in this business. There have been cases in developing countries where the couple who opted for surrogacy decided against having the baby, leaving the mother with a child she neither wants nor can afford.

Despite such cases, the ban must be thought through. It might be practical to legalise surrogacy rather than ban it altogether. The rights of the surrogate mother must be put centrestage. In a country like India, adoption is a better option but people cannot be denied the right to a biological child if that is what they want. Rather than focus on preventing the commercialisation of surrogacy, a better way would be to ensure that poor women are not duped and that they are not put in any medical danger through surrogacy.