The Need for Surrogacy Laws in India – What do you Know?
Commercial surrogacy was legalized in India in the year 2002. While there are no such surrogacy laws in India but there are bills passed from time to time that have helped many individuals and especially film stars in taking complete advantage of this practice. India has always been one of the favorite countries for people looking for surrogate children. This is because of the affordable availability of surrogate mothers. This has enabled the overuse of the practice. The Indian Council of Medical research laid down the guidelines for the procedure in 2002 and this made the practice legal. However, legislative backing was not offered to the practice.
How do Surrogacy Laws Protect the Individuals Involved?
The ICMR did not have any legislative backing but still it offered pre-surrogacy guidelines for protecting the surrogate mothers as well as the commissioning parents. Surrogacy laws in India are yet to come into direct effect. However, there are bills on this subject that prohibit sex-selective practice; requires the birth certificate of the child to only have the names of the commissioning parents; requires one of the commissioning parents to be a donor ensures complete right to privacy of the donor and the mother and requires life insurance coverage for the surrogate mother.
How do Surrogacy Laws Protect the Individuals Involved?
The ICMR did not have any legislative backing but still it offered pre-surrogacy guidelines for protecting the surrogate mothers as well as the commissioning parents. Surrogacy laws in India are yet to come into direct effect. However, there are bills on this subject that prohibit sex-selective practice; requires the birth certificate of the child to only have the names of the commissioning parents; requires one of the commissioning parents to be a donor ensures complete right to privacy of the donor and the mother and requires life insurance coverage for the surrogate mother.
The Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill
In the year 2010, a draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill came into being but this was never passed in the form of a law. This bill lays down further procedures and conditions for surrogacy and even notes that there do not exist any regulations on the number of time the surrogate mother might be permitted to reproduce. This bill also enabled the single parents to have kids through surrogacy. However, in this case, the women have to prove that they are infertile and are not able to give birth while the men do not have any condition. It is to be noted that this bill does not protect the rights of the surrogate mother and also does not allow homosexual couples and foreign nationals to serve in the form of commissioning parents. The bill also does not have any rules pointing out the amount that the surrogate mother should get in the form of commission.
The Need of Proper Laws
In India, there is this acute requirement of surrogacy laws mainly because of the overexploitation of this practice. The overuse of the procedure of surrogacy has led to the declining health of the surrogate mothers who have literally become baby- machines. There are many women who choose to become surrogate mothers due to lack of proper education and poverty. Proper laws passed on the practice of surrogacy can help the women involved in challenging their exploitation.
Stepwise Procedure of Mutual Consent Divorce in India
Mutual Consent Divorce in India is a practice that is quite common. Under Section 13-B of the Hindu marriage Act, parties can always seek divorce through mutual consent simply by filing a petition in the court of law. The meaning of mutual consent is that both the parties fully agree to peaceful separation.
