Draft law tightens surrogacy norms

MUMBAI: Having a test-tube baby may now involve hiring a lawyer along with a doctor. India’s new draft rules on infertility state that couples who need a surrogate mother will have to approach a semen bank instead of an infertility specialist to make a selection. Welcome to the future of infertility treatment as envisaged by the new Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill & Rules, 2008. The bill, which was posted online on Monday to invite public comment over the following month, has triggered mixed responses. It’s likely to be passed in the next parliamentary session. While many fear that the new rules-along with the mountainous paperwork-will only increase costs, an equal number feel that the new laws protect all the parties involved, from the parents and surrogate women to the child and the doctors. The 135-page draft rules attempt to plug the many loopholes that have brought infamy to the world of infertility treatment. "For the first time, there will be regulation,’’ said a doctor. Situations such as Japanese baby Manji’s plight-her parents broke up and her surrogate mother doesn’t want her-can henceforth be avoided. For instance, all foreigners seeking infertility treatment in India will first have to register with their embassy. Their notarized statement will then have to be handed over to the treating doctor. The foreign couple will also state whom the child should be entrusted to (which set of grandparents, for instance) in case of an eventuality such as a genetic parent’s death. "All the grey zones in infertility treatment have become black and white,’’ said Dr Gautam Allahabadia, infertility specialist from Mumbai who was a member of the drafting committee. Dr P M Bhargava, former scientist with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), who is the key architect of the draft rules, told TOI a few days ago that "considering all the news about surrogacy, including the recent case of the Japanese child, we realised that the new law addresses all the problem areas’’. The chief recommendation of the new rules, according to experts, is the "safety’’ it offers to surrogate mothers. "Everything will be in contract form. Surrogate mothers will have an insurance cover paid for by the parents-to-be in case of an adverse outcome,’’ pointed out Dr Allahabadia. But infertility expert Dr Aniruddha Malpani is unhappy with semen banks becoming "service providers of sorts’’. "Semen banks should provide sperm donors. But here they will also act as the nodal agency to arrange for egg donations and surrogate mothers as well,’’ he said. Another doctor who didn’t want to be named felt that the only agenda seems to be to "police’’ infertility clinics and "rein in their so-called profiteering’’. According to a senior doctor, "The new rules will only double the paperwork, increase the cost of IVF and make lawyers very happy.’’ However, the drafting committee has its own unbeatable logic-by introducing the semen bank as an agency in the deal, the government is only trying to make the arrangement safer for surrogate women. "Now, there will be two agencies-namely the infertility doctor and the semen bank-preparing contracts. It will thus be impossible to fudge paperwork,’’ points out Dr Allahabadia.

"Loved reading this piece by Prakash Yedhula?
Join LAWyersClubIndia's network for daily News Updates, Judgment Summaries, Articles, Forum Threads, Online Law Courses, and MUCH MORE!!"

Join our Telegram group

Join our Whatsapp group