Indian Surrogacy Law 2014

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Indian Surrogacy Law 2014
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Commercial surrogacy is deemed legal in India
since 2002. There is no codified surrogacy law
in India as the ART Bill is yet to be passed in
Parliament. Indian surrogacy laws are based on
the Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic
Guidelines. Recently, some remarks and
explanations were released by the Indian Council
of Medical Research in connection with the Law
Commission's report on the subject of Indian
surrogacy which are summarized below.
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• It is mandatory for both, the couple seeking
  surrogacy as well as the surrogate mother to
  enter into an agreement that is legally
  enforceable.
• The Indian surrogacy guidelines also permit the
  surrogate mother to receive monetary compensation
  from the commissioning couple for agreeing to act
  as surrogate.
• All expenses, including insurance, for the
  duration of pregnancy as well as the delivery in
  relation to the surrogacy should be borne by the
  couple commissioning surrogacy.
• The surrogate mother has no parental rights over
  the baby. The birth certificate will bear the
  name of the persons who commissioned the
  surrogacy.
• The surrogate mother must be aged between 23 and
  35 years and married. Additionally, she must have
  a living child that is at least three years old.
  She can opt to be a surrogate mother only once in
  her lifetime.
• Surrogate mothers will be subject to various
  medical tests for diseases as may be prescribed
  so as not to endanger the health of the child.
• All information about the Surrogate Mothers and
  surrogacy shall be kept confidential.
• The couple availing the services of a surrogate
  is bound legally to accept the child's custody
  irrespective of any deformity or abnormality it
  might be born with.

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The Indian Surrogate Baby Boom India is a
popular surrogacy destination for foreign couples
who seek to become parents through assisted
reproductive technology due to the affordable
costs and relaxed legal environment. Few years
ago, the Supreme Court also gave a legal sanction
to commercial surrogacy when it permitted
foreigners to leave India with their surrogate
children. Worldwide however, commercial surrogacy
is condemned for various socio-ethical reasons
and few countriesrecognize or give it legal
sanction.
Current Status on the Indian Surrogacy Law in
2014 The Indian government has now tightened
visa regulations for foreign couples desirous of
commissioning surrogacy. They can no longer
travel on a tourist visa for the purpose the
appropriate category is a medical visa. In fact,
going a step further, the government has barred
surrogacy for foreigners. At an
inter-ministerial meeting held on March 6, 2014,
it was decided to ban foreigners from entering
into surrogacy agreements with Indian surrogate
mothers till such time as the Assisted
Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill 2013
was passed. The Government wants to limit
surrogacy to infertile Indian married couples.