Surrogacy : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-2: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key phrases: surrogacy, Social Issues, PNDT, commercialization, commercial surrogacy, altruistic surrogacy.

Why in News?

Girls from tea garden areas are being trafficked and forced into surrogacy. A ban on commercial surrogacy under the new law, say experts, may help the illegal practice prosper.

Context:

For decades, the very concept of surrogacy - an arrangement whereby an intending couple of individual commissions another woman to carry their child - was considered taboo in India, especially in conservative states like Tamil Nadu.
But over time, with the many advantages associated with the practise (such as the genetic link for the child, ability for parents to choose the surrogates, and so on) when compared to adoption, surrogacy became a popular choice for many couples.
Many celebrities in India – from actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to the likes of Tusshar Kapoor and filmmaker Karan Johar (as single dads) – have opted for such an arrangement as well. The most recent endorser is actress Sunny Leone and husband Daniel Weber who became parents to twins earlier this year in March, via surrogacy.
India has become one of the most popular destinations for international surrogacy, where the industry grosses over $1 billion each year.
Government data from 2018 estimated 80 per cent of the surrogate babies born that year were commissioned by foreign couples.
For profit, surrogacy has been banned in Canada, the UK, Denmark, New Zealand and Australia.
All forms of surrogacy are banned in France, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman (the surrogate) agrees to carry and give birth to a child on behalf of another person or couple (the intended parent/s).

Social Issues and Legal Issues With surrogacy:

New reproductive technology claim to help human beings through creative interventions that reduce suffering and have the potential to transform the society. The commercialization of surrogacy however creates several social conflicts rather than resolving a few. It generates the family pressure on pure women to offer their wombs for a price.
In the other part in the world like in India the debate is focus on the ethics of surrogacy rather than on the economic advantage of any particular region. On the other hand the economic advantage is the main criteria behind going for surrogacy. Majority of the women becoming surrogates are extremely vulnerable due to poverty, lack of financial resources, low educational levels. For them the financial gain is the key factor. This makes their economic exploitation much easier for the agents for commissioning parents.
The surrogates often face the dilemma that being a surrogates is socially unacceptable when the frankly accept monetary consideration. So rather than tell their neighbours that they gave away their child, they tell them that the baby died. As the surrogacy involves implantation of multiple foetuses, the unwanted foetus is aborted during the course of development.
The misuse of PNDT in the process can eliminate the female foetus resulting into imbalance of sex ratio in the country. There are cases where the surrogate mothers have refused to part with the baby. In other cases the commissioning parents have refused to accept the child with the deformity.
Surrogacy can also affect the children’s perception of the values and integrity of their family. Secrecy and anonymity create a negative environment that affects human relations within and outside families. It also involves the issues of children’s right to information about the identity of their parents. Secrecy and anonymity are routed in the social value of the primacy of ‘blood relations’.
The present practices push such children into a search of identity, a sense of shame and anger against their social parents.
Lack of enforcement of agreement b/w Surrogate and commissioning parents in case of any dispute.

Concerns related to commercialization of Surrogacy in India:

Child Trafficking: The legal status given to the practise of surrogacy in India has resulted in a rise in the child trafficking business.
A Threat to the Baby’s Health: Low birth weight, genetic abnormalities, and membrane damage are all hazards to the baby’s health.
Surrogacy has resulted in the commoditization of offspring, which raises ethical concerns. It is well recognised for severing the link between children and their moms, as well as interfering with nature itself. Women are eventually exploited as a result of this, especially in poor nations. Ex. Human trafficking has been a common, though grave, crime in the far flung areas of Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand for decades. Trafficked girls are generally sold into the flesh trade or into servitude. However, over the past six to seven years, a new purpose has been added - trafficking girls and using them to produce babies.
Psychological Consequences: Surrogacy has psychological consequences in addition to the legal concerns. In India, there have been several examples of legal and psychological difficulties related to surrogacy. There have been several incidents of surrogacy exploitation in which a woman has been mentally harassed or intimidated as a result of her decision to become a surrogate.

Case study

Human traffickers have operated for long in the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in North Bengal, that share international borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, with Assam and Bihar nearby. But the business of trafficking young girls has acquired a new focus in recent years. They call it ‘bhade ki kokh’. And it feeds the relentless demand for babies from childless couples across India.

A girl who called Tsering was working in a local beauty parlour, when she met a man who promised her a job with a better salary. Taken to an undisclosed location, she was subjected to artificial insemination a month later. Then, she was handed over to the house of the couple. Six months pregnant, she finally succeeded in escaping.

After being rescued by the local NGO, the 19-year-old is now married and leading a normal life with her baby. The agent and the couple, however, are still absconding.

Way forward:

In the culturally enriched country like India concerns about the overuse and inappropriate use of commercial surrogacy facilitated by unscrupulous fertility clinics are above all.
Surrogacy is an alternative to other fertility treatments in a bid to expand the industry and make greater profits, and fears loom that surrogacy could spin out of control.
In developing country like India where poverty is playing an important factor, women may be compelled by their husbands of in-laws to become surrogates.
Instances like breach of contract either by surrogate mother or commissioning couple should not be neglected.
Hence, there are number of ethical, social, legal and psychological issues associated with surrogacy, which require urgent need for framing and implementation of law

Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021

With The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, commercial surrogacy stands banned in India. It allows only ‘altruistic surrogacy’, where no monetary compensation is allowed to be paid to the surrogate mother other than medical expenses and insurance.
It has provisions to exclude millions of Indian citizens from accessing ART and surrogacy. Single men, cohabiting heterosexual couples, same-sex couples, and LGBTQ persons cannot access such services.
Additionally, the couple has to include a man between the ages of 26 to 55 years and a woman of 25 to 50 years of age. Both have to be Indians, and should have no biological, adopted, or surrogate children (unless the child is mentally or physically challenged or has a life-threatening disorder).
The criteria for anyone opting to be a surrogate mother states that the woman in question must be married (at least once in her life) and should have her own child. She should be between 25 to 35 years of age and a close relative of the couple opting for surrogacy. Any woman agreeing to be a surrogate cannot be a surrogate more than once in her life and at the time she should be certified for medical and psychological fitness.
The act also lays down specific eligibility criteria for both the couple opting for surrogacy and the surrogate mother. The couple in question is required to have a “certificate of essentiality,” which includes a certificate of proven infertility of one or both persons, a court order on the parentage and custody of the child born through the surrogate, and insurance coverage for the surrogate mother for 16 months, including for post-partum delivery complications.