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- The Lok Sabha has passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019. The bill aims to regulate the practice and process of surrogacy in India.
- The objectives of the bill are to: a) ensure effective regulation of surrogacy, b) prohibit commercial surrogacy and c) allow ethical altruistic surrogacy to the needy infertile Indian couples on fulfilment of conditions.
- It defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an eligible couple and agrees to hand over the child to them after the birth.
- It allows altruistic surrogacy. Altruistic surrogacy involves an arrangement where the couple does not pay the surrogate mother any compensation other than the medical and insurance expenses related to the pregnancy.
- The bill prohibits commercial surrogacy which includes compensation (in cash or kind) paid to the surrogate mother, which exceeds the reasonable medical expenses associated with the pregnancy.
- The bill mentions that the couple intending to commission a surrogacy arrangement must be a close relative of the surrogate mother. The surrogate mother has to married with a child of her own, in the age bracket of 25 to 35 years old, and should not have been a surrogate mother before.
- Further, the couple should be Indian citizens who have been married for at least five years and are in the age group of 23-50 years (female partner) and 26-55 years (male partner). They also need secure a medical certificate stating that either or both partners are infertile
- The couple also should not have any surviving child (whether biological, adopted or surrogate), except if the surviving child is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from a fatal illness.
- The bill states any child born out of a surrogacy procedure shall be the biological child of the intending couple. Also, the child will be entitled to all rights and privileges that are available to a natural child
- The Bill proposes to regulate surrogacy in India by establishing a National Surrogacy Board at the central level and state surrogacy boards and appropriate authorities in the state and Union Territories.
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