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Surrogate mothers need to be protected

Activists feel that safeguarding their interests should be a priority for the authorities.

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Activists have been demanding strict laws related to surrogacy for a number of years now, but film star Aamir Khan, who obtained a child through surrogacy a few days ago, has managed to bring the issue in the limelight.

Priya Khan, director of Spark, a policy advocacy group that has prepared the draft bill on surrogacy produced in the Parliament by MLA Devendra Phadnavis, said, “Till now, everyone has been thinking that surrogacy is a Gujarat phenomenon. But various news stories related to surrogate births in the city, including that of Aamir Khan and many other foreigners, seems to have opened a Pandora’s Box. Mumbai has hundreds of IVF centres and no one knows what happens behind closed doors. Surrogate women don’t come forward to report abuse, if any. This helps doctors and middlemen to make lakhs, but women end up being exploited.”

Although the Supreme Court has given legal status to commercial surrogacy, there are no regulations to protect the rights of those involved. As a result, issues concerning protection of surrogate mothers and children persist. More importantly, such issues are suppressed due to the need for secrecy.

The present bill aims at protection of rights, especially that of the surrogate mother. A similar act is under consideration at the central government level. The Maharashtra government might have to enact a similar legislation soon.

United Nations Population Fund’s state coordinator, Dr DK Mangal, who heads gender-related programmes, says, “The government must now frame a strict policy so that surrogate mothers aren’t exploited.  Moreover, there have been cases where genetic parents have refused to take the child. We don’t have any law to handle a situation like that. Unfortunately, neither is there any transparency in dealings between doctors and parents.”

Dr Mangal said, “The proposed rules, which includes a woman’s age, number of childbirth, and a birth certificate are good but the issue should be widely discussed with all stakeholders. There should be a national registry so that data can be maintained.”

However, the bill is tabled as a private bill, which actually has no legal binding on the government. “But it will create awareness among legislatures about the issue,” said Priya.

A gynecologist says, “Citizenship issues are not clear. An act in this regard should help.”

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