In India, there are no laws for surrogacy

“Surrogacy in India has developed because it is very cheap in the country. Artificial insemination and surrogacy is a serious concern as it raises a question in terms of law,” remarked Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India.

He was speaking at a legal discourse on ‘Law and morality-law relating to surrogacy’ organised by the Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University’s New law College on Monday.

Chauhan said, “Surrogacy has become a topic of discussion as development of science and technology has gone beyond previously imagined limits. The revolutionary development in re-productive technology, such as In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination and surrogate motherhood require serious consideration, as the same have posed new challenges to marital relations between spouses and may have a serious impact on ethical and moral standards of the society.”

According to him, surrogacy enables women to provide wombs for rent. Such a concept may have acceptability in the society but may not have respectability.

“It could create serious problems as the surrogate mother must be mentally stable and unlikely to withdraw midway. Provision made in the law is not a decoration piece to keep, but there is a need to implement it through a proper channel,” he
remarked.

The dean and principal of the New Law College, Mukund Sarda, said, “There is no law to deal with the issue of surrogacy precisely in India at present. I feel due to lack of proper law, women from the poor and weaker sections of the society are getting exploited.