New laws ban commercial surrogacy in India

Surrogacy is a controversial issue and most particularly when well-known celebrities have used it. It is a boon for couples where normal pregnancy is not possible but can be used for commercial exploitation. The Government of India passed a law on surrogacy in December 2018, which introduced many changes to the pre-existing rules, in particular, it bans commercial surrogacy and curtails the freedom of foreigners to apply for surrogacy in India. This has dealt a major blow to the agencies who organised surrogacy for foreigners. A key reason for passing this law was the unjust treatment of the women who provided surrogacy services. They had poor living conditions and often failed to receive the money that was paid by the intended parents to the agency.² There are some countries where commercial surrogacy is legal, including some states in the United States of America, Poland, Russia and many others.³ Some surrogate mothers suffer complications from the assisted reproductive technologies used; these mainly include ectopic pregnancy, psychological stress and ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome.⁴ Same sex couples, single parents and even infertile women should be encouraged to adopt children.