Context: 

The Central government ammended Surrogacy Rules 2022 and allowed couples with medical conditions to use donor gametes for surrogacy.

Why Were the Surrogacy Rules 2022 Modified?

• Gamete Source Flexibility: The Central government has modified the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 and notified that both gametes need not come from a married couple in case they are certified as suffering from a medical condition.
• Couple Requirement: As per the latest amendment, the couple can have a child born through surrogacy but must have at least one gamete from the intending couple.
• Single Women Requirement: Single Women (widow or divorcee) undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperm to avail of surrogacy procedures.

What Is Surrogacy? 

• Surrogacy is a contractual undertaking whereby the surrogate mother agrees to conceive a child through artificial insemination with the sperm of the natural father and to terminate all of her parental rights after the child’s birth.

Types of Surrogacy

• Altruistic Surrogacy: When the surrogate offers to carry the child of the commissioning couple in her womb purely out of love and empathy for their need to have a child
• Commercial Surrogacy: When money is paid to the surrogate for her services, it is taken as an act of commercialisation.

What Are the Surrogacy regulations Rules for 2021? 

• Definition: A practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
• Individuals or couples who fall within specific criteria may pursue surrogacy for medical reasons.
  • Eligible parties include widowed or divorced women aged between 35 and 45 years, as well as legally married couples.
• The law strictly prohibits commercial surrogacy, imposing severe penalties such as imprisonment for up to 10 years and fines of up to Rs 10 lakhs.

Surrogacy Regulations in India 

• Prohibits: Commercial surrogacy
• Permits: Altruistic surrogacy for intending couples who suffer from proven infertility
• Rights of surrogate child: A child born out of surrogacy procedure, shall be deemed to be a biological child of the intended couple or intending woman.
• Prohibition of abortion: At any stage of surrogacy except in such conditions as may be prescribed.

Eligibility Criteria for Surrogate Mother

• Any Close relative of the couple willing to do surrogacy
• A married woman with a child of her own
• Required Age of Women: 25 to 35 years old
• Women can surrogate only once in her lifetime
• Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy
• The surrogate mother cannot provide her gametes for surrogacy.

Other Important Provisions of Surrogacy in India

• Commercial Surrogacy: It bans commercial surrogacy, and makes it a non-bailable offense with imprisonment extending to 10 years and with a fine of up to 10 lakh rupees.
• The Intending Couple: Must be an Indian man and woman, legally married, within the specified age groups with no surviving biological, adopted, or surrogate child, and must suffer from a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy.
• An Intending Woman: Must be a widow or divorcee within the specified age group.

News Source: The Hindu