Surrogacy Bill Passed in Lok Sabha During Winter Session of Parliament; Commercial Surrogacy to be Banned

New Delhi, December 19: The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 was passed in the Lok Sabha today during the winter session of the parliament. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda while introducing the bill, said that those who want to opt for surrogacy would be required to submit their certificate of infertility within 90 days. Nadda stated that the government rejects commercial surrogacy. He also assured the house that the suggestions of Dr Ghosh on cryoprotection would be taken into consideration while framing rules and regulations.

The Health Minister while responding to members who sought to include same-sex couples and live-in couples in the bill, said that a family means a man and woman legally married. Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Supriya Sule objected to Nadda’s definition of family. Nadda clarified that his interpretation of family as mentioned above should be considered only in the context of the bill. Child Trafficking: More Than 30 Cambodian ‘Surrogate’ Mothers, Carrying Children for Chinese Clients, Released on Bail.

Surrogacy is a process of giving birth to a child as a surrogate mother. According to the bill, the woman should be a close relative of a couple and should be between 25-35 years of age. The child born through surrogacy will have the same rights as are available for the biological child. The intending couples should be legally married for at least five years and should be Indian citizens.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2018 04:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).