COMMERCIAL SURROGACY IN INDIA.

{The Surrogacy(Regulations) bill, 2019}

SYNOPSIS..(Abstract)
“ Common sense often makes a good law”
– William O. Douglas, Supreme court justice

Parenthood is a common and often an expected part of life for many people.
However, there are many people who for a variety of reasons cannot carry
children. For these people, through medical intervention, surrogacy has become
a viable alternative. When we think about the history of surrogacy and how long
surrogacy has been around, we may think it’s a fairly new process. Surrogacy as
we know it today has only been around for the last 30 years. However its
emergence can be seen from the bible times. In 1884 world witnessed it’s first
artificial insemination of a women in USA and then surrogacy came into light so
much that during 2004-2008 almost 5,000 children were born via surrogacy in
united states.
From how long we can see the emergence of surrogacy in India? Is still a big
question. From the case of Kanupriya alias durga India’s first IVF baby to the
landmark case of baby manaji yamanda v. union of India. India witnessed some
of its first surrogacy agreements. Despite the social stigma surrounding surrogacy
in India, the practice is still legal. According to Abigail Haworth “ Indian surrogacy
is already a $445- million-a-year business”.
There are many different types of surrogacy. As a complicated medical process,
surrogacy can be completed in several ways, tailored to everything from who will
be genetically related to the baby to what kind of relationship intended parents
and surrogates want to have with each other. Although the practice has been
around longer, India opened its doors to surrogacy as a commercial enterprise in
2002.
In 2015 the government of India banned commercial surrogacy for homosexual
couples and it only permitted heterosexual couples . However in 2016, a
Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill was introduced and passed by Lok Sabha. The 2016
bill lapsed owing to the adjournment sine die of the parliament session. The bill
was reintroduced and passed by the Lok Sabha in 2019.