Surrogate parenthood law on anvil

The government will make a fresh bid for a new surrogacy law that would make the deal between prospective parents and the surrogate mother legally binding on both sides, reports Nagendar Sharma.

The government will make a fresh bid for a new surrogacy law that would make the deal between prospective parents and the surrogate mother legally binding on both sides.

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The Law Ministry’s move has a lot to do with the case of German twins Leonard and Nikolas, born to a surrogate in Gujarat. They have been in India, away from their parents, since their birth in 2007 because of India’s vague laws and Germany’s ban on commercial surrogacy. The Supreme Court on January 20 finally came up with a solution: the parents could adopt their own sons.

“There is no clarity in India on this issue. It’s a grey area,” said a ministry official. “Yes, we are working towards a new law on surrogacy,” Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said.

A similar bid was made by the Women and Child Development Ministry in 2008, but failed.

In August 2009, the Law Commission of India, in a report, stated that commercial surrogacy was turning India into a “reproductive tourism” destination. It also recommended that commissioning parents bear the medical expenses of the surrogate, who should relinquish all parental rights.