Want to know about Surrogacy

India in the year 2005 banned all types of commercial surrogacy and it was told that any embryo from outside was to be imported only for research purposes. This stopped the rampant cases of commercial surrogacy in India. Later with subsequent additions in the surrogacy law it was made more clearer in the year 2018 as how the surrogacy matters are viewed by the law. The 2018 bill was passed to become an act. The bill presented in the year 2019 is still under debate and would take time to become an act. Example of commercial surrogacy is the bringing of embryo by the foreign couples in India and paying money to the surrogate mother for producing the baby. Even Indian nationals paying money to the surrogate mother other than the hospital expenditure and insurance cover are treated as illegal.

The present status of the surrogacy law in our country is as follows. The point wise queries in this particular question would be resolved while going through this description -

As per the present legislature only altruistic surrogacy is allowed. Altruistic surrogacy means that no monetary compensation is allowed to be paid to the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses (including insurance coverage) during the pregnancy. The insurance should also cover 16 moths period after the delivery. Further the Indian married couple who cannot bear child and are desirous of surrogate child can go for it but the surrogate mother should be a close relative. This is being done to stop the misuse of the law in the hands of commercial minds. The intending couple and the surrogate mother have to get an eligibility certificate from the designated authority in their area. The couple should be married for at least five years and aged between 23 to 50 years (wife) and 26 to 55 years (husband). As regards to the surrogate woman she should be a married woman having a child of her own and her age should be between 25 to 35 years old and she can surrogate only once in her lifetime and should possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy. It is also specifically mentioned that surrogate mother cannot provide her own gametes for surrogacy.

The foreign nationals, NRI and other Indian origin persons are not allowed to have children by surrogacy in India. Those couples who are already having children would not be allowed to go for surrogacy but they can adopt children as per the Indian adoption procedure.

Same sex couple or single person are not allowed to go for surrogacy. They can very well adopt children as per the existing law and procedures.

i) What is surrogacy and is it that only a woman can surrogate a baby or even a man can be a surrogate father?
-> Surrogacy is a process usually opted by the parents when the normal pregnancy is impossible by the mother. It is a legal process where a healthy female agrees to conceive or bear a baby in her womb for the duration of nine months and after delivering the baby, the couple will be the legal parents of that baby.
No, a man cannot be a surrogate father, as it is about giving birth to a child. A man cannot conceive or bear a baby normally, so he cannot be a surrogate father. But if a single man wants to have a child with the help of a surrogate mother, he can go for it after following some legal formalities. These formalities are basically to check whether the man is capable of the proper upbringing of the child and it includes both financial and physical aspects.

ii) What are the legal procedures or agreements that one needs to complete or follow?
-> There are many formalities required to be done before going for surrogacy. These rules differ in different countries and couples should check with their surrogacy advisor for the same. The main outlines of the legal procedures are as follows-
a) A proper contract needs to signed between the "to be surrogate mother" and the intended parents which include all the financial as well as social terms. The financial terms include the payments, the medical expenses, expenses in case of any medical emergency, etc. The social terms include the clause about intake of alcohol, tobacco or any other edible which is not good for the pregnant ladies.

b) Another document states the presence of the intended parents during prenatal check-ups and even at the time of delivery.

c) Then comes the Pre-Birth order, where the concerned doctors signed the affidavit saying that the embryo was transferred to the surrogate mother in this particular pregnancy. The surrogate family signs an agreement saying that they will not be having any right on this child after delivery.

d) The last and final documentation required is about adoption or Post-Birth documentation. It varies depending upon the type of surrogacy chosen. The "stepparent adoption" is done when either the egg or the sperms are taken from the intended parents. If none of the intended parents are genetically related to the embryo, then "embryo adoption" documentation needs to be done.

iii) Who can surrogate a baby and what are the different types of surrogacy?
-> Couples with medical issues can go for a surrogate baby or surrogate mother. These cases include the weak uterus, infertile sperms, age of both the couples, sever problems in mother that makes her incapable of bearing a child for 9 months, etc. Couples having a history of genetic issues can go for surrogate mothers with an embryo adoption method where both of the intended parents will not be genetically related to the child.

There are basically 2 types of surrogacy procedures and the intended parents can choose any of them. The one which includes the egg and sperms of the intended parents is known as "Gestational surrogacy". In this case, the egg and sperms are fertilized in-vitro (in the lab) and then transferred in the womb of the surrogate mother.
In another case, where sperms are taken from the intended father and transferred or inseminated to the surrogate mother, is known as "Traditional Surrogacy". Here the traits of the child will match with father and the surrogate mother as the egg used for fertilization belongs to the surrogate mother.

iv) Can a surrogate refuse to give the child and if yes, what can be done?
-> Yes, a surrogate can refuse to give the child post-delivery as she may feel connected with the child she bore for 9 months. In such cases, the legal documents which were prepared and signed pre-birth need to be used. If proper legal documentation is done, then it is not difficult to fight such cases.

v) Does any religion have deflection or limitation about surrogacy?
-> All religions have different beliefs and couples following their religion strongly will prefer the surrogate mother of their religion. In the case of egg or sperm donor, he or she must also be from the same religion as that of intended parents. But such things vary on the personal front. Many people do not even disclose that they are planning to have a surrogate baby to avoid such religious or social issues.

vi) What is the treatment of surrogacy and when can one opt for surrogacy?
-> Treatment of surrogacy is nothing but delivering the child through artificial insemination or IVF in the womb of the surrogate mother. Here, proper tests are needed to be done before initiating the process and it includes blood tests, the family history of the mother is analyzed to check the presence of any genetic issues, the health of the uterus, etc. When the IVF procedure is chosen, special care is taken of the surrogate mother, as neither the sperm nor the eggs are related to the surrogate mother genetically hence her body may face problems accepting it on the immunological front.
When the intended parents are not capable of delivering the child due to any medical issues, they can go for Surrogacy. In case o single parents, they can also go for surrogacy. Even in the case of homosexuals, they can have a child by providing their eggs or sperms through surrogacy.

vii) Any additional points to be looked into while thinking about surrogacy?
-> Proper legal documentation and the medical health check-ups of the surrogate mother are very important in surrogacy. Improper documentation may take you to legal discrepancies related to the right of the child post-delivery and the financial issues may arise in later stages.
If the surrogate mother is not fir physically, mentally or genetically, she may face difficulties during pregnancy and even at the time of delivery.
Lastly, consent from the surrogate mother's family also plays an important role as they may create problems after delivering the child.

1. Surrogacy is allowed in India with certain rules and regulations. There are some terms and conditions which are to be followed without fail.
2. The surrogate mother can't ask for any monetary benefit except the expenses incurred for the medical process and insurance. The insurance cover should be up to 16 months after the delivery.
3. The surrogate mother should be a known relative to the couple.
4. The couple who want to go for surrogacy and the surrogate mother should get the eligibility certificate from the qualified authority who is designated to do the same.
5. The couple can go for a surrogate child only after completing 5 years of married life.
6. The age prescribed for the parents for having a surrogate child is 23 years minimum and 55 maximum.
7. A surrogate lady should be a mother and should have at least one child. No lady without a child can go for this. A lady who is older than 35 years can't opt for accepting surrogacy.
8. No unmarried gent can opt to have a surrogate kid.
9. If the couple is having a living child can't be allowed to go for surrogacy.
10. The surrogate mother can't have any rights on the child born. Once the baby is delivered and handed over to the couple she will automatically lose the right on the child.
11. The three people involved should sign an agreement which is designed by the authority in India. That will be the legal binding for them.
12. There are two types of surrogacy systems in India. Gestational surrogacy and Traditional Surrogacy.

Surrogacy is the method of reproduction where interested parents work out for gestational surrogacy so as to have a delivery of a normal baby where the fertility would occur in the wombs of other selected lady other than the womb of own mother.
Surrogacy allows couples and individuals having different backgrounds, ages and sexual orientations assisting the family in the embryo formation.
Interested parents using surrogacy include -
1) Intended mothers are otherwise unable to carry a child in her own womb due to their health condition.
2) Heterosexual couples who have struggled with infertility.
3) Parents having genetic defect or they don't want to pass onto the child.
How does the surrogacy work?
Surrogacy help those unable to have children and with the facility of surrogation they get a chance of babyhood. It is a process requiring medical and legal expertise apart from strong support process from different persons during the process of surrogation journey.
Through IVF, embryos are created in a lab at a fertility clinic. Sometimes an egg donour is required. At the fertility clinic 1-2 embryos are implanted into gestational carrier who carries the baby to full term.
However, in order to arrest the process of commercialisation, this process is normally adopted within the family circles very close to each other where no money transaction would involve during the process of surrogation except the medical condition where the surrogated mother would need certain tests to be carried out and administration of the medicines needing financial support.
There are certain conditions to be followed during the process of surrogacy-
1) Surrogateed mother should be of age group between 21 and 30 years.
2) She should not suffer from HIV or any other veneral diseases.
3) The surrogate mother would not have the right for the child once the delivery takes place.