Surrogate need not be kin, Panel recommends changes

The 15 major changes suggested by the 23-member select committee of the Rajya Sabha to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, also include deleting the definition of ‘infertility’ as the inability to conceive after five years of unprotected intercourse on the ground that it was too long a period for a couple to wait for a child.

The committee has also advocated that a ‘single Indian woman’ like a widow or a divorcee in the age group of 35 to 45 years may also be allowed to avail surrogacy. Noting that restricting the surrogate mother to be a ‘close relative’ potentially limits the availability of surrogate mothers, affecting the genuinely needy persons, the panel has recommended removal of this requirement from the Bill.

The Committee recommended that “a willing woman shall act as surrogate mother and be permitted to undergo surrogacy procedures as per the provisions of this Act.” It also suggested increasing the insurance cover for the surrogate mother from proposed 16 months to 36 months. Chairman of the committee Bhupender Yadav presented the report on Wednesday.

Regarding the eligibility criteria for availing surrogacy procedure, the committee recommended removing the provision of requirement of five years as the period of inability to conceive before opting for the procedure. It noted that there may be certain proven medical conditions with chronic medical condition where normal pregnancy is ruled out and it is medically proven beyond any doubt that surrogacy is the only option.

The panel further observed that the requirement of obtaining certificate of proven infertility is not at all justified in such cases. With the proposed deletion of the definition of ‘infertility’, needy persons can avail surrogacy any time on the basis of a certificate of medical indication requiring gestational surrogacy, it said.