Critical Analysis Of Non-Biological Parenthood In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 1 hour ago
- 1 min read
S Aishwarya, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), School of Law, Bangalore
ABSTRACT
Parenthood is still seen through the narrow lenses of biology and marriage in India, thus discriminating against individuals and families outside this traditional framework. Despite rising infertility rates and an increase in adoption the law has failed to adequately accommodate non-biological pathways to parenthood. The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, the Juvenile Justice Act not only have procedural flaws but also discriminate parents that do not fall into the idea of a traditional family and in addition to slow adoption procedures, there are only few children declared legally free for adoption. Surrogacy, which once was very accessible, has nearly died out due to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which confines its practice strictly to altruistic surrogacy within narrowly defined family-based arrangements.
The paper analyses the ways in which surrogacy laws in India entrench heteronormativity, marital privilege, restrictive familial concepts, and therefore create unconstitutional hindrances to reproductive autonomy and the right to parenthood.
It is argued that these laws, cloaked in regulation and alleged protection, discriminate against nontraditional families with respect to equality, liberty, and dignity-that is, those nontraditional families that include LGBTQ+ persons, single parents, and live-in partners. Hence, adoption and surrogacy laws require a reorientation from restrictive, moralistic regulation to a rights- based framework grounded in constitutional principles and reproductive justice. Indian law must reflect the heterogeneity of modern families and recognize the fundamental right to parenthood beyond biology.
Keywords: Reproductive Autonomy, Non-Biological Parenthood, Adoption, Reproductive Justice, Constitutional Morality, LGBTQ+, Parenthood, Marital Privilege, Family.
