Oppn seeks changes in Surrogacy Bill

Newdelhi: opposition MPS in the Rajya Sabha sought several changes in the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019, mainly regarding age and eligibility norms, and also a clarification over definitions in the controversial law which, if passed, will end the business of commercial surrogacy in the country.

The discussion on the law, which health minister Harsh Vardhan tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday will continue on Thursday.

The bill seeks to allow infertile, married Indian couples to bear a child only through a surrogate mother who is a close relative. The bill terms this altruistic surrogacy. It is also silent about same-sex couples and heterosexual couple who are not married but in live-in relationships.

Some also wanted clarity on the term “near relative” so as to explicitly define who within a family can be a surrogate. Others wanted removal of the floor of five years of marriage for couples to opt for surrogacy as many may not want to wait that long to start a family.

The bill bans commercial surrogacy but allows altruistic surrogacy, wherein the surrogate mother is a close relative who has been married and has had a child of her own.

Amee Yajnik, a Congress MP from Gujarat, said: “The term close relative needs to be clearly defined. Families are turning nuclear and to find a surrogate within one’s family will be a problem...the bill doesn’t address that. This bill is much required but not in its current form.”

The surrogacy industry in India is estimated to be worth between $2 billion and $3 billion. Gujarat’s Anand is believed to be the epicentre of the industry. The need for regulating the industry came about from a desire to control unethical practices, that had become rampant in India, especially exploitation of surrogate mothers.

“It is a very complicated bill…there is nothing altruistic about surrogacy as there is a commercial component to it that can’t be ignored. Keeping it altruistic will drive surrogacy out of India,” said Jairam Ramesh, a Congress member of the Rajya Sabha. “There have been a lot of kintuparantu (ifs and buts) in statements made today in the house that need to be dealt with. Get an amended bill passed,” he added.

RJD member Manoj Kumar Jha pointed out that the bill said nothing about same-sex couples and people who were in live -in relationships.

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019, was passed by the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session in August this year.