A sneak peek into Surrogacy in India: Laws, Cost, Eligibility and Surrogacy types!
Surrogacy in India is currently banned for all the international couples and individuals. However, if you are an Indian couple and adhere to the provide guidelines of the recent surrogacy bill, you can proceed with your child seeking aspirations here.
That said, we hereby list down all the pre-requisites that one needs to take care for while going along with surrogacy in India.
What type of surrogacy is allowed in India ?
Only altruistic surrogacy is permitted in India i.e. the surrogate mother can only be paid for her medical expenses. Besides, in no manner whatsoever, the arrangement can be carried forward as commercial surrogacy.
On the other hand, there are certain rules and guidelines for the surrogacy clinics in India which says that :
· Human gametes and embryos may not be purchased or sold.
· No one is permitted to purchase or sell a surrogate’s services.
Additionally, the surrogate, her dependents, or her representative cannot receive any kind of payment, reward, benefit, fee, remuneration, or inducement. Moreover, the export of embryos to other nations is prohibited by law. Besides, even transporting embryos between laboratories or ART facilities requires permission from the relevant authorities. Those who are caught breaking the law face fines and up to 10 years in prison.
Other key aspects of Surrogacy laws in India
· Only marriages between heterosexual people are recognized by the Indian Marriage Act. Consequently, gay couples are unable to use surrogacy to have a child.
· After signing the contract, the surrogate is obligated to carry the baby to term. She needs the appropriate authority’s permission before she can end the pregnancy.
· According to the law, the embryo must share genetic ancestry with the couple — either the man and woman or both. Besides, donating embryos is not permitted in surrogacy.
· As long as the surrogate is between 35 and 45 years old, the law permits a divorcee or widow to donate her eggs for surrogacy.
· The child born as a result of an Indian couple using a surrogate outside of India will not be recognized as an Indian citizen.
· If the intended couple passes away before the child is born, the nominees of the couple named at the time of signing the surrogacy contract are responsible for raising the child. The responsibility of the newborn child would fall on the nominees. The nominees may, nonetheless, later decide to give the child up for adoption or to an orphanage if they so choose.
· When they turn 18, the aforementioned children may assert their right to know they were created through surrogacy. They can also make use of their right to find out the surrogate mother’s identity.
Who all can proceed with surrogacy in India ?
According to the new surrogacy laws in India, the intended parents first need to approach a medical board consisting of obstetricians, pediatricians and other professionals from renowned government hospitals.
Afterwards, they need to ensure that they are fulfilling the eligibility criteria to pursue surrogacy at a surrogacy centre in India. For now, the eligibility criteria say that a person looking for surrogacy in India should be :
· Within the age group of 25 to 50 years
· Must not have a child via natural conception, adoption or via surrogacy
· Must furnish a medical and radiological report to confirm their inability to conceive naturally
· The medical report should also clear them of any genetic health issues or abnormalities
· The intended parents must also have an insurance policy in place to cover the surrogate mother in India for 36 months from the embryo transfer date
Once the intended parents have furnished the requisite, the members of the board would look into it. Basis of the details and documents provided by the intended parents, they will then approve or reject the same application.
Moreover, once the application is accepted, the board will issue a certificate to the intended parents confirming their eligibility for the surrogacy process. The couple then needs to submit the same certificate (along with other details) to the court of a first class judicial magistrate. The intended parents can then use the order from the court as the proof of birth of the child born via surrogacy.
Besides, this order can also ensure that the intended parents can register the child in the local municipality after its birth.
What is the eligibility criteria for the surrogate mother in India?
In order to qualify as the surrogate mother in India, one needs to fulfill the following criteria:
· Must be within the age group of 25–35 years
· Should be married and must have a child of her own
· She should be serving as a surrogate for the first time
· She must also needs to be medically fit and the same needs to be certified by a specialist
Once the intended parents and the surrogate mother in India got their required certificates, they can then connect with a reputed surrogacy centre in India for the embryo transfer process. As per the surrogacy laws in India, the parties must also have their Aadhaar cards linked. This is required so as the authorities can trace them for any future communication. This way, the possibility of any malpractice can also be avoided during the surrogacy procedure.
How much does surrogacy cost in India ?
It all depends on the type of surrogacy you have opted for. If your surrogacy requires the inclusion of an egg donor or a sperm donor, the cost would go up. Similarly, the surrogacy cost in India would be around 100000INR to 500000INR for a standard program.
Final words
Surrogacy in India is currently available for only the local citizens. Besides, you have to abide by the given regulations in order to get the desired results. Hence, it is always recommended to connect with a trusted surrogacy agency in India for end to end support.
Source: https://ivfconceptionsblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-sneak-peek-into-surrogacy-in-india.html
