Commercial Surrogacy In India: Legislative Gaps And The Need For Comprehensive Reform
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 14
- 1 min read
Dr. Anupama Singh, Assistant Professor, Centre Law School, GIBS, GGSIP University, Delhi.
ABSTRACT
This study examines the Grey Shade of Commercial Surrogacy of mother- workers in India in the light of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2022. Commercial surrogacy became a temporary solution for poor women to uplift themselves and their families from poverty and destitution. The nature of commercial surrogacy, on the other hand, was fueled by exploitative capitalism. According to CII data, surrogacy is a $2.3 billion industry fed by a lack of regulations and poverty.1 Due to legal leniency, the enterprise of commercial surrogacy operated in an unchecked complex network of doctors, commissioning parents, and brokers, all of whom together contributed to the exploitation and commodification of the bodies of vulnerable women.
On December 25, 2021, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, received the President’s assent in order to regulate the practice and process of surrogacy. The act bans the practice of commercial surrogacy in India. The act only allows altruistic surrogacy for infertile Indian married couples between the age groups of 23–50 years for women and 26–55 years for men. The act also states that a couple should not have a surviving child, either biologically or adopted, except for a child who is mentally or physically challenged.
Keywords: Commercial, Surrogacy, IVF, Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021
