NEW DELHI, Oct. 28 (UPI) — The Indian government announced plans Wednesday to ban the practice of surrogate pregnancies for foreigners seeking babies.
The administration of Narendra Modi, acting on orders from the Supreme Court to clarify plans to regulate India’s booming “rent-a-womb” industry, submitted an affidavit to the court Wednesday.
“The government does not support commercial surrogacy, and also the scope of surrogacy is limited to Indian married infertile couples only and not to the foreigners… [It is] in the process of bringing a comprehensive legal framework for not only protecting the rights of surrogate mother but also for prohibiting and penalizing commercial surrogacy,” the affidavit read.
Surrogacy, estimated to be a $1 billion business in India, will remain available to childless Indian couples.
Low cost, adequate medical technology and lack of regulation are factors which have made India a world leader in the practice of surrogacy. So is poverty, and opponents of the new ruling argue poverty is typically a major factor in a woman’s decision to become a surrogate, an agreement, they say, which offers a benefit to both sides of the bargain and harms no third party.
The government said the law would not be enforced immediately, adding it would take time to introduce it.
