Bill to regulate surrogacy in Maharashtra

BJP leader Devendra Phadnavis has moved a private member’s bill seeking laws to regulate surrogate motherhood in the state. The bill, called the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, was presented on Saturday and may be taken up for discussion on Tuesday.

Seeking to prescribe laws for surrogacy, Phadnavis’ bill stipulates that only married women between the age of 25 and 35 years should be allowed to become surrogate mothers. Furthermore, she must get her husband’s consent to become a surrogate mother and cannot have more than five children, including her own (that is, if she has her own two children, she can at best bear three surrogate children). The surrogate mother will be bound by law not to engage in activities that might harm the foetus. A woman who is a surrogate mother should register herself at an Assisted Reproductive Technology clinic, which should be set up to help surrogate mothers.

The couple who commission a surrogate mother must bear all the medical and related expenses, and the child’s birth certificate should be in the name of the commissioning couple. If the couple is from abroad, a local guardian should be employed, and the couple’s home country embassy must give a certificate stating that surrogacy is acceptable in the home country.

Phadnavis said that a national-level bill is needed to regulate surrogacy across the country, but since such a bill has not been forthcoming, he would like Maharashtra to take the lead. “I know a lot of people think that Gujarat has the maximum cases of surrogacy, but actually Maharashtra has more cases,” he said, adding, “There are even surrogacy agents who swindle women, and several websites inviting women to become surrogate mothers. Thus, there is an urgent need to bring in some laws to regulate the phenomenon.”

While private member’s bills are rarely taken up for discussion unless the house members agree to it, there is a chance that Phadnavis’ bill may come up for discussion.