Surrogated Mother

Surrogate - literally means " instead of" IF a women is fertile but cannot give natural birth [for n no. of resons] , the externally fertilised egg/embryo is planted in the body of another women [ who litrally gives on hire her womb]

Surrogate mother is a women who has given birth to a child but is not her biological mother.

Sorrogate Mother has a  contractual  aspect of accepting a job of carrying third person's  baby in her womb for the purpose of proper conception and birth, as the real mother of the child in making,  is unable to carry a child on her own due to medical reasons.

Surrogated mother- well defined by Rajan & Sanjeev.
Surrogacy is not prohibited by the law. However, it is illegal for an individual or agency to act on a commercial (ie. profit-making) basis to organise or facilitate a surrogacy arrangement for another person.

Specific law in this concern has still come to India.

there are ICMR guidelines, 2005 to regulate surrogacy, which will remain in force until the specific act comes in place.

ICMR guidelines for surrogacy

• A surrogate mother can be procured through law firms or semen banks. All semen banks or law firms require accreditation. However, negotiations between the couple and the surrogate mother must be conducted independently.

• Payments of surrogate mothers should cover all genuine expenses associated with pregnancy. Documentary evidence of financial arrangement for surrogacy must be available.

• Advertisement regarding surrogacy should not be made through the Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) clinic. The responsibility of finding a surrogate mother, through advertisements or otherwise, should rest with the couple, or a semen bank.

• A surrogate mother should not be over 45 years of age. Before accepting a woman as a possible surrogate for a particular couple’s child, the ART clinic must ensure (and put on record) that the woman satisfies all treatable criteria to go through a successful full-term pregnancy.

• In Indian context, a known person as well as a person unknown to the couple may act as a surrogate mother. In case of a relative acting as a surrogate mother, she should belong to the same generation as the woman desiring the surrogate.

• No woman may act as a surrogate more than thrice in her lifetime.

 

Dear Mr. Manish

Thank you very much for this valuable information

Does ICMR stand for Indian Council for Med Research?  IF the Council has guidlines it is for regulation of thier own work and does not have the force of law. However the information provided by you is intresting./ In the abscence of governing bodies the question of accountability still arises.

I would be indebted to the person who enlightens me and all the forum members on the exact defination / meaning / difference between

a    law

b    act

c     Regulation

d     directives

e      notifications

f      circulars

g      resolutions

h     guidelines

i       ordinance

Thank you to all for a detailed discussion about surrogated mother. A good subject Shine. Manish keep up this tempo.

I have got some new informations from this discussion.Thank you very much.

Dear and respected seniors,

THANK YOU very much for the appreciation. these guidelines have force of law since the Council is kind of regulating body for health hazards and all that.

" The Council's research priorities coincide with the National health priorities such as control and management of communicable diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health, control of nutritional disorders, developing alternative strategies for health care delivery, containment within safety limits of environmental and occupational health problems; research on major non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, blindness, diabetes and other metabolic and haematological disorders; mental health research and drug research (including traditional remedies). All these efforts are undertaken with a view to reduce the total burden of disease and to promote health and well-being of the population."

 

The Council's Governing body is presided over by the Union Health Minister and these guidelines have been implemented with a force of law. non -compliance with the same attracts action by the council.