Dr. Sujata Kar And Dr. Duru Shah Speak About Surrogacy And The Surrogacy Laws In India 

With popular Bollywood actresses like Priyanka Chopra Jonas announcing the birth of her daughter via surrogacy, this method of giving birth to a baby is gaining immense popularity. Couples are keen to know more about what the process involves. 

For most couples who are unable to have a baby, it is one of the ways to make their dreams of becoming parents true. But what is surrogacy and what are the surrogacy laws in India? Before you plan to take the surrogacy route, it’s important to understand it.

What Is Surrogacy?

Surrogacy is when the egg of a woman is fertilised with the sperm of a sperm donor or the father through a medical procedure to make an embryo. This embryo is then implanted in the uterus of the woman who is chosen by the couple as a surrogate mother. The surrogate mother carries and eventually gives birth to the baby.

Speaking to BabyChakra, Gynaecologist and Fertility Expert Dr Duru Shah says, “There is an act that has just been passed, clinics have to register with the ICMR and pay around 5 lakh rupees as fee for the same. Surrogacy cannot be done unless the committee passes it. However, it is still very fluid and we do not know what to do, so we have stopped surrogacy for the time being, because it is against the law and will be put behind bars for 10 years if we are found doing surrogacy.”

“Having said that, I think it is ridiculous especially for those women who are born without a uterus, have a damaged, infected uterus, have other problems like heart issues, liver issues, etc. International surrogacy was stopped some five years ago, but now even Indian surrogacy is banned on the grounds that it exploits women (surrogates). However, in most cases, the surrogate mother is happy doing it, as they too earn money and they already have a child or two of their own, and don’t want anymore kids. They are happy to carry a baby for infertile couples. The money the surrogate mothers earn is used for their own children’s wellbeing and education,” she adds.

Obstetrician and Gynecologist Dr. Sujata Kar says, “The Surrogacy bill was recently introduced about 2-3 years back and that has changed the surrogacy laws in India. As of now, the law bans almost all kinds of surrogacy, earlier non resident Indians could come to India for surrogacy but all that is completely banned now. Only a small group of people can use surrogacy to have a baby. Only Indian married couples can opt for surrogacy and that too the surrogate has to be altruistic. You cannot pay them to rent their womb. They have to do it absolutely free, so probably a relative or someone close to them can become a surrogate.”

Who Is Eligible To Undergo Surrogacy?

Both Dr Duru Shah and Dr Sujata Kar share that there are certain criterias that need to be followed to be eligible to undergo surrogacy:

1. Only altruistic surrogacy is allowed which means no money should be paid to the surrogate mother for renting her womb.
2. Only infertile Indian couples who have been married for at least five years and have a doctor’s certificate of their infertility.
3. Only women who are born without a uterus
4. Women who have had to remove their uterus at a young age before their reproductive life, because of cancer, pregnancy complications etc.
5. Other abnormalities because of which a woman is unable to conceive.

What Are The Dos And Don’ts Of Surrogacy?

According to Dr Duru Shah and Dr Sujata Kar the dos and don’s that couples wanting to undergo surrogacy are:

• The couples need to contact the centre that is registered to do the process.
• The couple needs to produce the surrogate they have chosen and know and trust.
• Make sure the surrogate is healthy, her uterus is healthy.
• The surrogate mother should not be more than 30-35 years old. 
• The surrogate mother should have at least one child of her own. 
• Both the surrogate as well as the parent couple need to go through a thorough check up.
• The surrogate mother needs to be examined thoroughly for any kind of diseases, disorders etc., because they should not suffer due to the pregnancy.
• Understand the pros and cons of IVF cycle, it’s not magic
• The parent couple needs to take proper care of the surrogate mother, assist her in the entire journey, making sure things are safe for her.
• Have all the legal contracts in place. 

Dr. Duru Shah says that in case there are any complications during the course of the pregnancy then both parties are informed by the doctor. She also adds that couples need to understand that sometimes surrogacy too does not give 100 percent results. “It’s not like magic,” adds Dr Sujata Kar.

However, as Dr Sujata Kar adds, “As of now we are in the grey zone so the laws are being formulated, finalised. Clinics are registering and they are fine tuning the laws to implement. It’s a lil premature to comment.” 

Talking about all the hype and misinformation regarding surrogacy, Dr Sujata Kar says,”Things like this catch on because of too much hype, especially in cases like celebrities undergoing surrogacy, but the fact is that general people do it more. In fact if you look at the statistics, it’s only a small percent who are in the business of having a perfect body who go through surrogacy. But the question doesn’t arise anymore because it is banned.” 

According to Dr Kar, the doctors have put in their requests and the government is looking through the requests as of now and it should be out by May end.

But the bottom line is as Dr Duru Shah puts it, “Most importantly we need to be ethical in our work and stop unethical practices.”