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Kishwar Desai

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Should commercial surrogacy be declared illegal in India?

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Absolutely. Why r they coming to India when they can do the samein their own countries? are the indian women cows who produce babies? THEY R NOT Asked by: Anonymous
Though I agree with you that commercial surrogacy should be banned --the sad reality is that it is now happening on a large scale in india --and it might be difficult to push the clock back. what we now urgently need is a proper regulation so that poor women are not exploited .
Hi Maam !! Is there any provision in Indian laws to prevent accidental incest while choosing a surrogate mother ?? Eagerly awaiting your reply Asked by: Anshuman
incest is banned under law in india in any case. of course in the case of IVF if there is any mistake ( for instance if the sperm or egg donor are related ) incest can take place --especially where donors are anonymous . this has to be very carefully examined and strictly monitored so these accidents do not take place.
Is the thought of Ban arising from population explosion ? The chinese policy of one couple one child coming in for our country ? Asked by: sundar1950in
no --there is no connection to population explosion. the ban is only being suggested because there is a rampant use of women's bodies to have these children for rich couples from all over the world. it is a form of exploitation
A woman helping another. A fee for that which is on agreement. Where is the harm ? If there is a dispute on the T &C or payment of fees - as in case of other disagreements on contracts let the parties fight it out legally. Because of a few such case majority of those who go through the agreements smoothly should not be deprived of a facility to give them the joy of having their own baby . Asked by: sundar1950in
the problem is that this is not a private, altruistic agreement---it has become a multi-billion dollar industry where indian women are being used as surrogates ---because it is banned in the countries where the potential parents come from...without a proper law in india( there is none at present) misuse and exploitation is very likely
There are women, who are very much career oriented, and renting a womb, because they may be having a huge 'role promotion' at work, coming their way. Your take on that? Asked by: Ashwin Issac
if women are capable of having a child --but don't have the time for it ---then why do they want a child at all? a child is not a product you outsource and get from a 'baby' supermarket ...or a baby factory--
I think it is possible to push the clock back and dont have a defeatist attitude. we should be claer ourselves and ensure proper regulations so that the poor wpomaen are not exploited. Does this not happen in the case of kidney transplants?? Asked by: Anonymous
as i said i entirely agree with you ---and i wish we could all get together and pressurise the government and the medical fraternity to have a debate on this and put in a proper regulation.
Has commercial surrogacy been banned elswhere in the world.?How many countries have legalised the same ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
many countries in Europe have banned in--including sweden, spain , france and germany --saying that the human body should not be rented, or lent or sold ....but the situation is complex as it is allowed in some countries such as UK if the agreement is altuistic and in other places such as South Africa it is decided on a case by case basis. In the US some states allow it and others dont. But India remains the one country in the world where there is no law to regulate and its a free for all, where you can rent extremely cheap wombs from desperately poor women.
It will be more appropraite to allow the Medical associations/Council and the health ministry to sit and draft self regulations to nip the problems of ethical and commercial disputes which had arisen so far than any contemplation of the ban being debated .Your views on this ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
the whole problem has arisen because an industry has already grown around surrogacy --with clinics mushrooming all over the country --which are completely unregulated as there is no law! had there been a proper debate and a law passed this mess may not have arisen. but now the malpractices, if any, would be difficult to control. perhaps an outright ban --or at least a debate on what kind of surrogacy India should permit ( if at all) is desperately needed .
When Body organs can be transplanted and there is a fee to pay what harm in renting out a space in the body to bring cheer to others who are unfortunately in problem ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
even for body organs there is a huge ethical debate whether they should be sold---or whether this should be altruistic. as you know poor people are sometimes forced to sell their kidneys --and there is even a thriving black market in it --where people have been drugged and their body organs stolen. it is the same issue here. the women who are surrogates are not doing it out of choice --they are being 'forced' to do this for the money. usually they will also have their own children along with the 'commissioned' babies --the latter are usually born through ceasarean section which is very unhealthy for a woman to go through over and over again. many of the surrogates go through it three times at least...think about it. it is a form of exploitation isnt it ?
When adoption is legalised why the thought of banning commercial suurogacy ? Does not this give a solace to those who want to have their OWN CHILD ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
Just because science has made something possible should we always go in for it ? There is a lot of ethical ambiguity in the whole issue of surrogacy...it would be fine if it were altruistic...in that case the woman has a choice. Now she is sacrificing her own maternal health for someone else only for the money. She is so poor that her womb is her only asset --should she be forced to sell it ? Is it a sort of flesh trade? ---is it worth it? Isnt it better to adopt a child? these are questions we must ask ourselves...and I have examined these in my novel Origins of Love --do read it!
Isn't it like escaping a problem rather than tackling the problem? Asked by: Pavan
Not really because I am sure there will be a huge debate if we try to ban commercial surrogacy --and we need to have that debate---
We need to understand that in Indian soceity it is possible the men could force the women to go through this process and then they finally end up using the money for drinking and gambling instaed of the money received being utilised for the family upliftment. Dont u agree thsi is all the more reason for strict norms if not declaring the surrogacy illegal? Asked by: Anonymous
I absolutely agree with you. There is a lot of grounds at present for misuse of the surrogates and the money they earn --and we need strict norms ---or we need to ban commercial surrogacy altogether.
A question to the question over there. What has necessiated the debate of going to the extent of declaring commerccial Surrogacy illegal. ?? Asked by: sundar1950in
The debate has arisen because we have a huge industry that has grown in India--a multi-billion dollar industry using the bodies of Indian women --without any regulation. It affects the lives of our children in India and of children all over the world who might be born through these surrogates for foreign parents. There is no monitoring of who these parents are , why they are coming to India , who the surrogates are --what is the money being charged--and whether the maternal health of these surrogates is being affected...this is an international business and so we need to re-examine it, because right now it is like a flesh trade where the bodies of poor , economically deprived Indian women are being rented out.