Surogacy

With the new Surrogacy Bill cleared by the cabinet, a ban over commercial surrogacy comes imposed. According to the new bill, only legally married couples, having been childless for five years can opt for surrogacy, provided the surrogate mother is a close relative of the intended parents without any monetary involvements.

This ban comes with a hard blow to the rapidly growing sector of commercial surrogacy which amounts to about $ 2 billion an year till date. It provided a good alternative for foreign couples who came to the subcontinent to find someone to conceive their child and paid huge amounts in return. The business resulted to a great amount of women trafficking where middle men or the better called dalaals enjoyed most of the income leaving the women exhausted and exploited.

Off course the new bill puts an end to the huge incomes these dalaals gained. It also avoids the harassment of these women who were majorly exploited be it because of the health problems they suffered after the artificial transplants or unfulfilled promises by the intended parents.

At the same time it also puts an end to the income of the women who rented their wombs with consent. They could have earned good and supported their families had the process been carried out in preferable circumstances.

Hence the question arises, is completely banning surrogacy an answer to the problems it has been creating? Is it not worth thinking about it and implementing it with more regulated norms so that it works for the advantage of both the parties, that is, the intended parents and the surrogate mother? Or is completely eradicating an effect our way of dealing with its cons?