Surrogacy Regulation Bill 2016, India: A Critical Analysis

India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for all those couples from different countries, who have difficulty in attaining parenthood biologically. In spite of this flourishing market, there have been reported incidents of exploitation of surrogate mothers, unethical practices, rackets of intermediaries, and abandonment of children born out of surrogacy in India. Print-and electronic media have also highlighted the need to prohibit commercial surrogacy and all the exploitation going on in the name of surrogacy services

In the light of all these, Union Cabinet of Government of India has given approval to the "Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016", which will ensure effective regulation of surrogacy by establishing National Surrogacy Board at the central level.. This bill totally bans commercial surrogacy in India and allows those married infertile couples to go for surrogacy, who have not been able to produce their own child after five years of their marriage. Only a close relative woman, who already has given birth to a healthy child, is eligible to be a surrogate mother. Homosexuals, live-in-couples, foreign nationals and single persons are not allowed to go for surrogacy in India. Although this bill has been introduced to regulate surrogacy services and to stop exploitation of surrogate mothers, yet, this bill raises many social, ethical and legal issues, which need to be addressed.

The present paper presents a detailed analysis of the Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016, India. It focuses on the violation of the rights of certain groups and discusses how this bill is in contradiction with the right to equality provided by Constitution of India. The data used for this paper are based on secondary sources as Government reports, Surveys, newspapers etc.