Due to several ethical and legal issues, commercial surrogacy is prohibited but altruistic surrogacy is allowed across the globe. Riding on comparatively lax surrogacy laws in India the medical tourism industry has flourished in India in recent years. Surrogacy is not new to the human race. There are instances in ancient texts like the Mahabharata and the Bible where people opted for surrogacy to protect the genealogy of their family or tribe or clan.
In the wake of several instances came into notice in the public domain where an unborn child is abandoned by sponsoring parents due to a genetic defect or a gender of a child, or domicile issues. The government has received several complaints regarding unfair compensation received by surrogate mothers. Instances have emerged where some wealthy sponsoring parents opted for surrogacy even though they have children through the normal conception process. There are some instances where wealthy singles (both male and female) opted for surrogacy.
In view of such rampant violation of the human rights of surrogate mothers and unborn children, the government has decided to amend existing surrogacy laws to put a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy. The new bill must have teeth to protect the life and well-being of both surrogate mothers and children born out of surrogacy. It must incorporate proper provisions so a surrogate mother can get fair compensation to the prevailing market rate. There must be sufficient safeguards in the bill regarding custody of a child born out of surrogacy. While prohibiting commercial surrogacy, the government should promote altruistic surrogacy and ensure that only needy, genuine, Indian childless couple should avail benefits of surrogacy.