Cabinet clears bill on surrogate motherhood

New Delhi, August 24

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a Bill proposing a complete ban on commercial surrogacy and allowing only married Indian couples to opt for the method in a bid to check exploitation of poor women.

The Union Cabinet gave its nod to the introduction of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, in Parliament. The Bill restricts the practice only to childless married couples.

The Bill also provides 10-year jail and a fine of Rs 10 lakh for breaches.

"The new Bill proposes a complete ban on commercial surrogacy in the country and will allow only legally wedded Indian couples married for at least five years to have children through surrogacy.” 

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"Foreigners as well as NRIs and PIOs who hold Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards have been barred from opting for surrogacy," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the meeting.

"Unmarried couples, single parents, live-in partners and homosexuals cannot opt for surrogacy. Only legally married couples married for at least five years can opt for surrogacy," she said.

Only relatives of couples opting for the method can carry child for them.  The Bill bans women from offering their womb more than once.

The woman must also be married and must have had a healthy child of her own.

The woman who wants to opt for the method must be aged between 23 and 50 and her husband, between 26 and 55 years.

India is fast emerging as a “hub” of commercial surrogacy, a practice banned in most developed countries.

The Bill will be taken up in Parliament in the Winter Session. — PTI