It has also asked for the ART Bill — on assisted reproductive technologies — to be brought first so that all technical and medical aspects are adequately addressed in the Surrogacy Bill.
Don’t limit “altruistic” surrogacy to close relatives, allow any “willing” woman to become a surrogate mother if all norms are followed; permit divorced and widowed women between 35 and 45 years of age to be a single commissioning parent; waive the five-year waiting period for a childless married couple if it’s medically certified that the woman cannot conceive.
These are some of the recommendations tabled in Parliament Wednesday by a Rajya Sabha Select Committee on the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2019.
The panel has strongly backed the ban on commercial surrogacy. In its other recommendations, which vastly expand the scope of the Bill, it said that persons of Indian origin be allowed to avail surrogacy services.
It has also asked for the ART Bill — on assisted reproductive technologies — to be brought first so that all technical and medical aspects are adequately addressed in the Surrogacy Bill.
While formulating its recommendations — they are not binding on the government — the committee noted that those who opt for surrogacy are usually keen to keep the move private, and that the “close relative” clause “restricts the availability of surrogate mother and may affect the genuinely needy persons”.
“The Committee is, therefore, of the view that it may be removed…a willing woman, shall act as a surrogate mother and be permitted to undergo surrogacy procedures as per the provisions of this Act; Provided that intending couple or the intending woman shall approach the appropriate authority with a willing woman who agrees to act as a surrogate mother.”
The Select Committee has also recommended increasing the insurance cover of surrogate mothers from 16 to 36 months.
Database is key
The Rajya Sabha panel has vastly expanded the scope of the Bill. But the key suggestion from a regulator’s point of view is to develop a database for monitoring and regulating surrogacy.
It has also asked for the “appropriate” state and central authorities to submit data on number of surrogacy procedures, clinics and related aspects to the National Board on Surrogacy to develop a database.
Before tabling the recommendations, the committee visited surrogacy clinics in Anand, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, and interacted with doctors, couples and surrogate mothers.
BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav, who chaired the committee, said: “As families get smaller, it is difficult to find somebody among close relatives who would be willing. So we have allowed altruistic surrogacy where there is no element of coercion, and is done in the spirit of helping somebody. This would ensure that all those who are needy can take advantage of science.”
The Surrogacy Bill proposes to allow altruistic ethical surrogacy for infertile Indian married couples with women between the age of 23 and 50 and men in the 26-55 age group.
The couple should be Indian citizens, legally married for at least five years, and without a surviving child either biological or adopted except one that is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life-threatening disorders with no permanent cure.
The Bill, which has already been scrutinised by the Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, is the second proposed legislation in recent days that deals with reproductive rights. Last week the Union Cabinet cleared a long-pending change to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971, which raises the legally permissible limit for an abortion to 24 weeks from 20.
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