5-yr wait for surrogacy too long for those who marry late: Panel
PANEL ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE DEFINITION OF INFERTILITY BE MADE COMMENSURATE WITH THAT OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
The five-year waiting period for couples to avail surrogacy is not only a breach of reproductive rights but also impairs chances of wannabe parents who marry late and want to go for assistedtechniques,aparliamentary committee has said.
The panel, which examined the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, termed the five-year waiting period as “arbitrary, discriminatory and without any definable logic” and recommended that the period be reduced to one year.
It said that in the present context of late marriages (late 30s and 40s) the requirement of five-year wait would adversely affect the quality of gametes and thus impair chances of attaining parenthood through surrogacy.
Also, in circumstances where the need for surrogacy is absolute due to medical reasons like absence of uterus, destruction of uterus because of cancers, fibroids among others, even the prescribed one year period should be waived, it said.
“Besides, this time bar of five years plausibly violates the right to reproductive autonomy, and an individual’s right to exercise his choice,” the committee said.
It also suggested that the definition of infertility be made commensurate with that of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The surrogacy bill was passed in the monsoon session of Parliament last year and was referred to a parliamentary standing committee.
The WHO terms infertility as “a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse”.