Long gestation period,difficult delivery

Indian Council for Medical Research officials estimate some 2,000-odd babies may be born every year through commercial surrogacy.

How many go for surrogacy?

In the absence of a centralised registry,there are no authentic figures. Indian Council for Medical Research officials estimate some 2,000-odd babies may be born every year through commercial surrogacy,where a woman is paid to bear a child. CII figures say surrogacy is a 2.3 billion industry fed by a lack of regulation and poverty,making it a cheap option for couples from the west,where many countries do not allow surrogacy.

Why is a law required to regulate it?

Surveys say surrogate mothers are kept in closely watched hostels,forced into several pregnancies with promises of a few lakhs and left to deal with the physical consequences later. There are no standards for payment or care. There have been cases of more than one surrogate mother impregnated for a better success rate,and there are issues of sex selection. In a recent survey by an NGO,22 per cent commissioning parents admitted to a sex determination test and 2 per cent admitted to having medically terminated an earlier pregnancy for social reasons. Another grey area is what would happen to a child born with some congenital problems.

Why has a law taken so long?

Mostly because governance has not kept pace with the burgeoning business. There is a powerful medical lobby thwarting efforts at legislation. Even after years of criticism about the exploitation of poor women by fertility doctors and rich couples,assisted reproductive technology is still under the purview of the department of health research. Whenever a law is passed,the issue of who will implement it is likely to be a thorny one.

How have efforts progressed?

A draft Assisted Reproductive Technologies ART Bill has been circulated after a long incubation period.

What does the bill provide for?

It tries to answer questions of eligibility. It says a woman can be a surrogate mother only thrice in her lifetime including of her own children and a man can donate sperm only 75 times. All clinics and sperm banks will have to be registered. ICMR has a list of 1200 clinics,of which 600 have already started the procedure for registration,apart from 150 sperm and ovum banks. The bill makes a pitch for the segregation of ART clinics and gamete banks,pinning many unethical practices on these two being owned and managed by the same individual.

What has it not addressed?

NGOs are critical of it for not providing protective provisions for surrogate mothers. The home ministry had not been in favour of granting visas to foreigners for surrogacy but has now eased the norms allowing even individuals. The Directorate General of Health Services,which is an arm of the health ministry,has sent suggestions that surrogacy services should be available only to married infertile couples where at least one person is of Indian origin. Surveys have found foreigners make up 40 per cent of the cleintele.