LEGAL SOCIAL AND ETHICAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES ON SURROGACY

Surrogacy refers to a contract or agreement in which a woman carries a pregnancy for

another couple who are not able to reproduce their own child. Number of infertile couples
from all over the World approach India where commercial surrogacy is legal. Couples
withfertility problems, same-sex couples, and single people who wish to be parents are
the mostcommon types of people who seek surrogate mothers.

Socially, one of the strongest issues opposing people may have with surrogacy is figuring
out what the main reason is the surrogate may be performing this duty for. Many
assume and conclude that it is solely for the money, but there are countless reasons why
surrogate mothers perform this hard job for infertile couples. One of the more popular
reasons that surrogates themselves give for performing this duty is for the act of helping
those who need it. In a Time magazine article, one surrogate claims her reason for going
through with this treatment was she had very easy pregnanciesand [she] didnt
think it would be a problem for [her] to carry another child. [She] figured maybe [she]
could help someone. And then there was the lure of the $10,000 fee. The money could
help pay for [her] childrens educationor just generally to make their lives better
(Wallis, Galvin). As this surrogate expressed, the money she received from going
through with this job will help her family positively, but she also keeps in mind to
spread to wealth of her ability to reproduce. True, the money is a great upside for the
surrogate by performing this job, but firsthand, people have to have faith in believing
that surrogate has altruistic motives. Each surrogate mother is different, but it is not
fair for society to assume what their motives may be. Each decision made between the
surrogate and the seeking parents are personal, and each case is under different
circumstances. Desperate couples turn to those who have the ability to help, and
surrogates are ready and able to. Although money may be a great motive for the
surrogate, seeking couples are looking for people who have a desire to help them from
the kindness of their hearts.1
LEGAL ASPECT OF SURROGACY
Surrogacy in India is relatively low cost and the legal environment is favorable. In ())+,
the Supreme Court of India in the 8an6i9s case &apanese 0aby has held that
commercial surrogacy is permitted in India with a direction to the Legislature to pass
an appropriate Law governing Surrogacy in India.
THE 228TH LAW COMMISION REPORT MADE THEIR OBSERVATION
REGARDING SURROGACY

1 http://surrogacycontroversy.blogspot.in/ (last accessed on 9th February,2016,

2:05 p.m.)

a) Surrogacy arrangement will continue to be governed by contract

amongst parties, which will contain all the terms requiring consent of surrogate mother
to bear child, agreement of her husband and other family members forth same, medical
procedures of artificial insemination, reimbursement of all reasonable expenses for
carrying child to full term, willingness to hand over the child born to the commissioning
parents, etc. 0ut such an arrangement should not be for commercial purposes.
(b) A surrogacy arrangement should provide for financial support for surrogate child
in the event of death of the commissioning couple or individual before delivery of the
child, or divorce between the intended parents and subsequent willingness of none to
take delivery of the child.
(c) A surrogacy contract should necessarily ta#e care of life insurance cover for surrogat
e mother.
(d) One of the intended parents should be a donor as well, because the bond of love and
affection with a child primarily emanates from biological relationship. Also, the chances
of various kinds of child5abuse, which have been noticed in cases of adoptions, will be
reduced. In case the intended parent is single, he or she should be a donor to be able to
have a surrogate child. Otherwise, adoption is the way to have a child which is resorted
to if biological natural parents and adoptive parents are different
(e) Legislation itself should recognize a surrogate child to be the legitimate child of the
commissioning parents without there being any need for adoption or even declaration of
guardian.
(f) The birth certificate of the surrogate child should contain the name of the
commissioning parents only.
(g) Right to privacy of donor as well as surrogate mother should be protected.
(h) Selective surrogacy should be prohibited.
(i) Cases of abortions should be governed by the medical termination of pregnancy Act
1971 only. The report has come largely in support of the Surrogacy in India,
highlighting a proper way of operating surrogacy in Indian conditions. Exploitation of
the women through surrogacy is another worrying factor, which the law has to address.
The Law Commission has strongly recommended against Commercial Surrogacy.

The eligible couple will have to produce a duly notarised agreement with
the prospective Indian surrogate mother. Further, they have to produce an
undertaking that they would take care of the child/children born through
surrogacy.

Moreover, commissioning surrogacy in India would not be easy for

foreigners married to an Indian because there are other conditions to do
so. The Bill makes it mandatory for the couple to be married with the
marriage sustaining for at least two years. They will further need to
submit a certificate, attested by the appropriate government authority of
that country, conveying that the woman is unable to conceive.2

ETHICAL ISSUES
Ethical issues relating to individual right variegated from one countrys culture, societal
and ethical backgrounds. The act of surrogacy is a way to chip into easiness to the
human paraphernalia. This tendency of promulgation of lenience but adversely affects
the moral and psychological spheres of the individuals. The mother is said to be the
architect of a civilization, selling or hiring that motherhood itself amount to the
deterioration of ethical and more ideals. Many religion consider it as a sin rather some
cites mythological incidents, propagating it.
Surrogacy and ethics
The present commercial model for maternal surrogacy in almost every clinic in the
developing world holds that a contractual relationship is forged between the client
(usually a woman or couple from a wealthy country), the clinic, and the surrogate. But
from a medical perspective, the clinician is directly responsible for the care of both the
client and the surrogate, though he or she is being paid by just the client. This is clearly
a conflict of interest. Consider if a medical situation were to arise in which the clinician
must act either to save the life of the fetus or the surrogate. He has a strong financial
incentive to choose on behalf of the paying client, and thus the fetus. The absence of an
independent medical advocate acting on behalf of the surrogate immediately nudges this
relationship into the realm of exploitation. Given that the surrogate is often quite poor,
uneducated, and semi-literate, it seems unlikely that she is even aware of the dangerous
nature of her unequal status in this commercial relationship. This vulnerability further
complicates the proper receipt of true informed consent. In legal ter
ms, informed consent is a process to avoid fraud and the imposition of one partys will
upon another. In medical ethics, it is the process of a clinician receiving genuine
permission from an autonomous person to perform a medical procedure on that person.
Illiteracy is but one barrier preventing the communication of such risk. But when risk is
presented in the same package as a significant financial incentive for accepting that risk,
the negative consequences are necessarily muted in comparison.
2 http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/now-foreigners-cant-hire-wombs-inindia/1/489648.html (last accessed on 9th February,2016, 2:30 p.m.)

The eligible couple will have to produce a duly notarised agreement with the prospective
Indian surrogate mother. Further, they have to produce an undertaking that they would
take care of the child/children born through surrogacy.
Moreover, commissioning surrogacy in India would not be easy for foreigners married
to an Indian because there are other conditions to do so. The Bill makes it mandatory
for the couple to be married with the marriage sustaining for at least two years. They
will further need to submit a certificate, attested by the appropriate government
authority of that country, conveying that the woman is unable to conceive.

In Conclusion
Surrogacy does in fact take a lot of emotional strength and physical dedication. It
isnt necessarily the easiest way to get a child, but it can be done. There are so many
cases that have been successful in providing parents with what they have wanted the
most for a long time. Happiness, fulfillment, satisfaction are all rewarded to both the
surrogate and the seeking parents. Infertility is indeed a great emotional hardship
that takes hope to get through. Surrogates are women that can change the lives of
others. Although controversial socially, ethically, and legally, taking the right steps
and finding the right woman to perform the duty is what makes this process so
successful. Professionals and people with experience are the ones to depend on for
the best advice regarding this issue. No one thing can satisfy everyone in this world,
but surrogacy is a reproductive treatment that infertile couples can depend on.