Surrogacy Bill: The End of India’s $2.8 Billion ‘Rent-a-Womb’ Industry?

August 7, 2019

(Asia One) – The strict new bill being considered by lawmakers permits only Indian couples, married for at least five years and childless, to opt for surrogacy. It states that surrogate mothers must be “close relatives” of the recipients and carries strict criteria for surrogate mothers, genetic parents, fertility clinics, medical professionals, and the egg and sperm donors. But most importantly, it bans all commercial surrogacy and states that all women who agree to carry babies to delivery as surrogates must agree to do so for “altruistic” reasons. It also demands all couples applying for surrogate mothers to prove their infertility.