When it comes to international surrogacy, there is normally one phase that people think about first: surrogacy in India.
Indian surrogacy has long been a popular option for international intended parents but, like most international surrogacies today, has recently gone through major legislative reform to bring regulation to the surrogacy process. Because of these surrogacy laws, if you’re an international intended parent considering surrogacy in another country, surrogacy in India likely won’t be the answer for you.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering a law about gestational surrogacy in India:
Is Surrogacy allowed by law In India?
In 2015, the Indian government passed new regulations on the surrogacy process, making what had once been a common destination for foreign intended parents no longer a choice. Surrogacy laws in India now make it illegal for foreign intended parents to complete a surrogacy in the country.
Moreover after nearly two years of debate, an Indian surrogacy law was passed in December 2018 that:
- Made commercial surrogacy illegal
- Only allows altruistic surrogacy for needy, infertile Indian couples
- Requires intended parents to be married for five years and have a doctor’s certificate of their infertility
- Restricts women to being surrogates only once, and only if they are a close relative of the intended parents, are married and have a biological child
These reforms mark a new age of surrogacy in Asia, with countries such as Thailand and Nepal recently enacting surrogacy bans.
Why Has Surrogacy in India Been Outlawed?
It’s difficult to determine precisely why surrogacy for foreign intended parents has been banned in India, but there are a few factors that may have influenced legislators’ decisions.
The rights available for intended parents and surrogates are less available in less-developed nations, as they are in all foreign surrogacies, which has resulted in negative outcomes.
During this time, women who wanted to become surrogates in India faced immoral treatment, poor living conditions, and exploitation.
On this emotional trip, they often did not receive the kind of supportive services they needed for themselves and their families.
Following the publication of these stories, the Indian government attempted to take measures to make the process safer for all parties involved. Regrettably, this has resulted in a restrictive process that has made the process more complicated or impossible, rather than easier.
Unlike this, in Ukraine, which is the leading country in the development and innovation of reproductive medicine, the government has specially developed such a law that will help and simplify the surrogacy processes, and at the same time will allow the development of the industry itself. The most important is to protect the rights of all parties in such a complicated process.