Commercial arrangements cannot be entered, though “altruistic surrogacy” Sushma Swaraj
NEW DELHI: In a landmark move, the Union Cabinet, Wednesday, gave its nod for introduction of Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 that prohibits commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to needy infertile couples. Briefing reporters, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said, “Bill comes as India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples and incidents reported on unethical practices.”
“Altruistic surrogacy will only be allowed for Indian citizens, not NRIs or OCI card holders,” she said, while adding that single parents, homosexual couples, live-in relationships couples will not be allowed altruistic surrogacy.
“If you have a biological child or an adopted child, then altruistic surrogacy won’ t be allowed,” she said. The minister said that this clause was put in place to ensure that there is no different treatment for the two kids while they’re being raised, or later to avoid fights over property.To ensure adherence to the rules, the government will set up a National Surrogacy Board at the central level and State Surrogacy Boards in State and UTs will be formed, the minister said.
Taking a dig at celebrities, Swaraj said that something that started as a necessity has now become a fad.“Big celebrities who not only have one but two children, a son and a daughter, even then they went ahead with surrogacy,” she said. Ms Swaraj, whose Twitter persona has earned her praise from the opposition and a huge following among Indians, has steadfastly maintained a low-profile offline, with her comments and briefings restricted to her own ministry.
However, sources say, her role today was based on two factors: the government was keen on using her gravitas to present its new proposal on the rights of surrogate mothers; and Ms Swaraj headed the group of ministers that helped draft the bill, with Health Minister JP Nadda serving as its pilot.
“I will satisfy your curiosity first. I have not come for an external affairs issue but for the surrogacy bill and I was the head of the Group of Ministers on surrogacy,” said Ms Swaraj before outlining the new proposal that seeks to end the rent-a-womb business that has flourished in India.
After taking office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that he wanted to break with the previous government’s tradition of creating Groups of Ministers or GOMs to handle legislation. But over the last year, top ministers like Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh have been chosen as leaders of mini-cabinets to deal with tasks assigned by the PM.
The new bill on surrogacy cleared by the cabinet bans being able to hire a woman to carry a baby. Commercial arrangements cannot be entered, though “altruistic surrogacy” can be arranged with close relatives if couples have been married for at least five years and have no other children. The new guidelines state that surrogacy will not be available to homosexuals, single people or foreigners.
