The Fertile Plains - Business of Surrogacy in India

chillibreeze writer — Shreya Sen

The word “surrogate” derives from the Latin “surrogatus”, meaning substitute. A surrogate mother, therefore, is one who chooses to carry a baby in her womb for another woman. With fast-paced lifestyles, rise in impotency, and greater numbers of homosexuality, surrogacy is becoming a popular trend all over the world.

Type of surrogacy
Surrogacy is of two kinds - altruistic surrogacy, wherein a woman decides to be surrogate without any monetary compensation; and commercial surrogacy, wherein the surrogate mother has to be paid in return for her efforts. Commercial Surrogacy has come under a lot of scrutiny for the moral and legal complications it entails. In fact, it is illegal in many parts of the world.

Surrogacy in India
Surprisingly, for a country which is conservative and wary of change of any kind, India was fast in becoming the only country in the world to legalize commercial surrogacy. Since the birth of her first IVF baby, Durga, on October 3rd, 1978, India has seen rapid progress in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology, also known as the ART.

Of course, the idea of surrogacy is not new to Indians. The story of how Krishna’s brother Balaram was taken from Devaki’s womb, and planted in Rohini’s is one we have heard at our grandmother’s knees. But what accounts for this sudden boom in the baby industry in India in recent years?

Reasons behind its popularity in India
There could be three reasons chiefly contributing to this - the foremost being the ease of procedure. In the year 2008, following the much controversial case of the infant Manji, the Supreme Court declared commercial surrogacy to be legal in India. This assured the couples opting for surrogacy a lot less legal hassle and a lot more convenience. The draft of the ART Bill recognizes surrogacy agreements under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and also provides for single persons who wish to be parents.

The second factor is the economic practicality. According to the 228th report on Need for Legislation to Regulate ART, the usual fee for surrogacy in India is around $25,000 to $30,000, nearly a third of what it costs in developed countries like the US.

The third cause is, of course, the devastating poverty and the consequent desperation for money that leads women to volunteer as surrogates.

Perception of surrogacy
The reaction of Indians to this trade is varied. While a part of the society and frowns at the idea of commodifying a child, another section celebrates the approach as “pro-choice”. As a woman, and as a human being who empathizes with the condition of the destitute, I cannot help but take a more neutral stand on the situation.

The dilemma of surrogacy
Women who opt for commercial surrogacy as surrogates are mostly those who cannot afford morality. At the same time, the choice they are making is one between starvation/ prostitution and commercialization of their wombs. In a sense, it’s almost as though the moneyed classes are exploiting and taking advantage of their penury. The surrogate mother in India is in no way receiving the same amount that she would get in the US. Nonetheless, what she gets for her nine months of labor (no pun intended) is more than what she could possibly earn by working for ten years of her life! With this money she can finally afford the ‘luxuries’ of having a roof over her head, having three square meals a day, educating her children or even perhaps be able to set up a small business of her own.

Position of surrogate mothers
Surrogate mothers do seem to be getting the worse part of the deal. For instance, the surrogate mother is required to relinquish all rights on the child at the time of birth. Although surrogates are selected from among women who have already had children so that they are aware of the physical, mental, and emotional intensity of pregnancy, this seems too harsh a sentence on a woman who carried a child for nine months even if it wasn’t genetically hers.

Also, there are always the unavoidable post pregnancy risks -post partum depression, physical discomforts, or even death at childbirth. Though they are being treated under the best possible care, we mustn’t forget that they are mostly women from impoverished backgrounds suffering from malnutrition.

By contract, the commissioning couple is to cover the life insurance of the surrogate, but that in no way compensates the loss faced by the surrogate’s family. Again, by terms of contract, the commissioning couple is to also deposit a sum of money in case of death of one or both genetic parent or divorce and subsequent unwillingness to keep the child. But should this happen, the already poverty ridden family will have to take up responsibility of yet another child.

It is impossible therefore, to either condemn or applaud the business of surrogacy in India. On the surface, the genetic parents get a baby, the baby gets a good home, and the surrogate mother gets a better life for herself and her family. But there are perhaps deeper issues at play wherein the genetic parents maybe cheated of money and the surrogates maybe cheated of dignity. It is thus necessary that the law keep up with the times and ensure benefit for all parties involved.

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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