Many families opt for the method of surrogacy in India if they aren’t able to conceive a child naturally as the chances of success are higher. This increased demand for surrogacy has led to confusion and misinformation regarding the medical process. In this article, we have explained Surrogacy in India in detail, along with the cost, process, and requirement necessary for surrogacy.
What Is Surrogacy?
Surrogacy is an arrangement that is usually bound by a legal contract, which lets a woman carry the child of a couple who due to some reasons cannot or do not want to conceive naturally and the child is handed to the biological parent(s) right after birth.
In this process, a woman is made to carry the fetus of the biological parents in her womb until the child’s delivery and then handed over to the respective parents of the child. This process is actually an agreement in which the surrogate (woman carrying the child) signs a legal contract with the prospective or commissioning parents (the biological parents).
Surrogacy In India
Until 2012, India had become the ‘Surrogacy Capital of the World’ with a large number of foreigners surging in India to find surrogate mothers and to undergo the entire process at a much cheaper rate. This gave way to unethical practices and exploitation of women who agreed to become surrogate mothers due to the increased poverty in India. In order to curb this problem, many bills were passed which prohibited foreigners and homosexuals as well as single parents to undergo surrogacy. The requirements that are essential to be fulfilled according to the Surrogacy Bill (2016) is as follows:
- Either one or both the partners undergoing surrogacy should be Indian citizens.
- Heterosexual couples who have been married for 5 years or more can opt for it.
- The couples who have fertility problems are the only ones eligible for it.
- Surrogate must be a close family member.
- The surrogate must be 35 years old or less.
- The surrogate must have at least one child of her own.
- Once, the contract is signed the surrogate cannot refrain from pregnancy, unless it is an exceptional situation.
- Surrogate and intended parents cannot get to know each other, so as to prevent any kind of emotional bond.
- The surrogate must have consent from her husband.
- Only altruistic or unpaid surrogacy is allowed. Commercial surrogacy is not permitted.
Cost Of Surrogacy in India
The cost of surrogacy in India is much lower than the US or European countries and approximately ranges between 15L to 21.5L. Out of the total sum, the surrogate mothers in India were paid only about 4.3L to 6.4L which was considerably higher for the families living in poverty, thus leading to increased exploitation of woman and thus, the new bill was passed which allows the woman to be a surrogate mother only if she is a family member.
The process that is involved in surrogacy comprises of a lot of mental preparation of both the intended parents and the surrogate. Thus, the intended parents have advised psychological therapy before beginning the process. In surrogacy, the initial step is to find a professional doctor that has a high success rate, in order to reduce any kind of complications. For this matter, there are many surrogacy clinics in India that have professional doctors and expert staff which will help you through this.
The next step is surrogate matching, in which the woman who volunteered for surrogacy goes through a medical check-up and is approved after suitable reports. The legal contract is then signed between the surrogate and the intended parents after which begins the medical process. The baby is handed to the biological parent right after parturition that is the delivery of the child.
It is good to have a basic knowledge about the important life decisions and thus, we provided you with all the information you might need when opting for surrogacy. There are many ways in which a child can be brought into this world and surrogacy is an excellent way if understood properly.
Leave a Reply