- The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 is a law in India that regulates and promotes surrogacy. The law’s main goal is to prohibit commercial surrogacy and only allow altruistic surrogacy.
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What is surrogacy?
- The Act defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand it over to them after the birth.
- It is permitted only for altruistic purposes or for couples who suffer proven infertility or disease.
- Surrogacy is prohibited for commercial purposes including for sale, prostitution or any other forms of exploitation.
Status of child born:
- Once the child is born, it will be deemed to be the biological child of the couple for all intents and purposes.
- Abortion of such a foetus is allowed only with the consent of the surrogate mother and the authorities and must adhere to the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
Who can avail of surrogacy?
- Under the Act, a couple should procure certificates of eligibility and essentiality in order to have a child via surrogacy.
- The couple is deemed ‘eligible’ if they have been married for five years, the wife is aged between 25-50 years and the husband is between 26-55 years.
- The couple must not have any living child (biological, adopted or surrogate.) A child with mental or physical disabilities or one suffering from a life-threatening disorder or illness has been exempted from the above criterion.
Who can issue an ‘essential’ certificate?
- The couple can get an ‘essential’ certificate if suffering from proven infertility of either partner certified by a District Medical Board, and an order of parentage and custody of the surrogate child, passed by a Magistrate’s court.
- They must also have insurance coverage for 16 months for the surrogate mother, covering any postpartum complications.
Who can be a surrogate?
- A surrogate mother has to be a close relative of the couple, a married woman with a child of her own, aged between 25-35 years, who has been a surrogate only once in her life.
- She must also possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.
Who regulates surrogacy?
- The Centre and State governments are expected to constitute a National Surrogacy Board (NSB) and State Surrogacy Boards (SSB) respectively, within 90 days of the passing of the Act.
- This body is tasked with enforcing standards for surrogacy clinics, investigating breaches and recommending modifications.
- Further, surrogacy clinics need to apply for registration within 60 days of the appointment of the appropriate authority.
Offences under the Act:
- Include commercial surrogacy, selling of embryos, exploiting, abandoning a surrogate child, etc. These may invite up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs. 10 lakhs.