Govt bans import of frozen human embryos for commercial surrogacy

The government has banned the import of human embryo for the purpose of commercial surrogacy against the backdrop of concerns that India has become an international hub for the practice .

Amending its 2013 notification, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court, the commerce and industry ministry issued a fresh order on October 27 that allows the import of embryos only for research.

The decision is likely to affect the surrogacy business in India, which the government has admitted is thriving in the absence of a law to regulate or contain it.

In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the health and family welfare ministry took a definite stand against commercial surrogacy and said it had communicated its views to the commerce ministry, which then issued the fresh notification on the ban.

After the new notification, there is no possibility of anyone obtaining a no-objection certificate from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for importing embryos for commercial surrogacy.

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