Why is it in the news?
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The Lok Sabha on 19th December passed Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, banning commercial renting of wombs and allowing only “altruistic surrogacy”.
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Surrogacy is an arrangement whereby an intending couple commissions a surrogate mother to carry their child.
Introduction
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Surrogacy is the practice whereby one woman carries the child for another with the intention that the child should be handed over after birth.
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Such a surrogacy arrangement may be altruistic or commercial in nature.
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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.
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Commercial surrogacy includes compensation (in cash or kind) paid to the surrogate mother, which exceeds the reasonable medical expenses associated with the pregnancy.
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Currently, commercial surrogacy is allowed for Indian citizens.
More about the news
Highlights of the Bill:
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The intending couple must be Indian citizens and married for at least five years with at least one of them being infertile.
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The surrogate mother has to be a close relative who has been married and has had a child of her own.
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No payment other than reasonable medical expenses can be made to the surrogate mother.
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The surrogate child will be deemed to be the biological child of the intending couple.
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Central and state governments will appoint appropriate authorities to grant eligibility certificates to the intending couple and the surrogate mother.
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These authorities will also regulate surrogacy clinics.
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Undertaking surrogacy for a fee, advertising it or exploiting the surrogate mother will be punishable with imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.
Source
The Hindu, PRS.