Lok Sabha passes Surrogacy Bill

Why is it in the news?
  • The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 is passed by Lok Sabha on Monday by a voice vote.
Concept
    • Surrogacy refers to a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
    • There are two main types of surrogacy:
      (1) Traditional:  In this method, the surrogate mother is impregnated with semen from the intended father or sperm donor and uses her own eggs. This means that the surrogate mother is genetically related to the child.
      (2) Gestational Surrogacy: This procedure involves in vitro fertilization (IVF) with the eggs of the intended mother or those of an egg donor. This arrangement means that the surrogate mother is not genetically related to the child.
      Highlights of the Bill
        • Eligibility/Criteria:
          (1) The bill seeks to "allow ethical altruistic surrogacy to the intending infertile Indian married couple.
          (2) The couple should be between the age of 23-50 years and 26-55 years for female and male, respectively.
          (3) A woman should be allowed to act as a surrogate mother only once and should be a close relative of the intending couple.
          (4) The surrogate mother should be an ever-married woman having a child of her own and between the age of 25-35 years.
        • Appropriate authority:
          (1) The central and state governments shall appoint one or more appropriate authorities within 90 days of the Bill becoming an Act. 
          (2) The functions of the appropriate authority include:
              (i) granting, suspending or cancelling registration of surrogacy clinics.
             (ii) enforcing standards for surrogacy clinics.
        • National and State Surrogacy Boards:
          (1) The central and the state governments shall constitute the National Surrogacy Board (NSB) and the State Surrogacy Boards (SSB). 
          (2) Functions of the NSB include:
          (i) advising the central government on policy matters relating to surrogacy. (ii) laying down the code of conduct of surrogacy clinics.
        • Offences and penalties:
          (1) The offences under the Bill include:
          (i) Undertaking or advertising commercial surrogacy.
          (ii) Exploiting the surrogate mother.
          (iii) Abandoning, exploiting or disowning a surrogate child.
          (iv) Selling or importing human embryo or gametes for surrogacy. 
          • The penalty for such offences is imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine up to 10 lakh rupees. 
          Source
          The Hindu, PRS.



          Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 6th Aug 2019
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