New Delhi, July 13
The Government has, for the first time in the history of infertility treatment in India, finalised a draft law to regulate the booming Rs 2,5000-crore sector.

The Bill allows only 21 to 35-year-olds to be surrogate mothers and says no woman would act as a surrogate for more than five successful live births in her life, including those of her own children.

The draft law prohibits In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) clinics from advertising for surrogates on behalf of infertile couples and seeks to create Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Banks to do the advertising for commissioning parents. These banks will screen surrogate mothers and donated sperms and oocytes for infections while ART clinics will simply offer ART services.

The Bill guarantees legal protection to parents, surrogate mothers and children and mandates legally enforceable agreements between the stakeholders. Any violation would be a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment and fine.

Foreigners from countries that don’t recognise commercial surrogacy will be barred from hiring surrogate mothers in India. “Foreigners and NRIs can hire surrogacy service only if they give an undertaking that their country permits surrogacy and the child born will get citizenship of the foreign country,” the draft says. It mandates foreigners to hire local guardians to support the surrogate mother in their absence. “If foreigners don’t return to claim custody of the child, he will be granted Indian citizenship and the local guardian will be allowed to offer him in adoption in India,” explained Dr VM Katoch, Director General of ICMR, which drafted the Bill.

In 2009, Supreme Court had stayed a Gujarat High Court order granting Indian citizenship to twins born to a German couple from a surrogate based in Anand, India’s surrogacy hub. Twins Leonard and Nikolas Balaz suffered for no fault of theirs. Germany refused them visas as it doesn’t recognise surrogacy; India refused them citizenship. Most European nations don’t permit surrogacy; some like UK permit altruistic surrogacy which involves women who offer wombs for a cause and not money.

“The new law will protect the rights of such children,” Katoch said. Asked why India didn’t ban commercial surrogacy as recommended by the Law Commission (which batted for altruistic surrogacy), he said, “To preserve the social order where infertility can lead to breakdowns of marriages.” The Bill, he said, would be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament. It is pending with the Law Ministry for approval.

Though no authentic data is available on ART clinics in India, ICMR’s national registry says there are 866 IVF clinics. Of these, 262 have agreed to register when the law rolls.