In a very welcome move, Lok Sabha has passed a bill which bans commercial surrogacy:
A bill that bars commercial surrogacy and allows only close relatives to act as surrogates to needy infertile couples for altruistic reasons was passed by the Lok Sabha Wednesday with Health Minister J P Nadda terming the proposed legislation historic. The 'Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016' was passed after an hour-long debate amid noisy protests by Congress and AIADMK members over various issues.
Nadda said different sections of society, political parties, the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have spoken against commercial surrogacy and that the bill addresses these concerns. India had become a hub of commercial surrogacy and surrogate mothers also suffered from exploitation, he told the House. "The bill protects women from exploitation and ensures the rights of the child born through surrogacy. It has been a demand from all sections of society," he said.
The bill proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy, but altruistic surrogacy will be permitted for needy infertile couple under strict regulation. The bill entitles only Indian citizens to avail surrogacy. Foreigners, NRIs and PIOs are not allowed to seek surrogacy in the country.
This is a very good step by our government. India had become a hub for global population seeking to exploit poor Indian women by making them act like surrogates while they went on with their life. This practice not only degraded women and made them appear like a vessel or a machine, but was also a disgrace on humanity. It is no surprise that this practice is already banned in so many advance or developed countries in the world.
It is also surprising how long it took for Indian government to wake up to the menace. Vested interests from the hospital business would have liked this practice to continue - after all they earn dollars from foreigners through this business. But turning motherhood and child bearing process into money-making business is something which intellectuals must think about.
Better late than never. It is a good news that the current government which is lead by our popular PM Narendra Modi is taking care of so many social issues which have been ignored for decades. At the same time, it looks like shame that the principal opposition party Congress even opposed this bill since it has gotten itself into a trance like situation where it ends up opposing whatever the Modi Government does. The opposition party should apply some mind before opposing such moves.
Once again, thank you PM Modi and BJP government at the center for this good decision taken for our country.
