The human body is a marvel of engineering. The future of childbirth in the form of test tube infants, as well as surrogate motherhood enabled by new reproductive and cloning technology, will open up hitherto unimagined sexual options. Surrogacy is an assisted reproduction approach in which a woman agrees to become pregnant for the goal of gestating and giving birth to a kid who will be raised by others. Surrogacy is lawful in some jurisdictions, and the intended parents may be acknowledged as legal parents from the moment they are born. In India, commercial surrogacy, sometimes known as “Womb for Rent,” is a booming industry. Reproductive tourism is a relatively new problem in our constantly globalising world. The surrogacy industry exploits poor women in countries like India, which already has an extremely high maternal mortality rate. In order to safeguard and guide couples considering surrogacy, the government should seriously consider enacting a law to regulate surrogacy in India. Patients would always be mislead, and surrogates will be exploited, if there is no watertight legal structure in place.

Surrogacy is a legally binding agreement in which a woman agrees to bear a child for the person who will become the kid’s parents after birth. Surrogate mother refers to a woman who carries a child in her womb.

Surrogacy is used when pregnancy is medically impossible or when the risks of pregnancy are too great. There may be monetary compensation involved in surrogacy contracts. Commercial surrogacy is the practise of receiving money in exchange for a child. The cost and legality of different jurisdictions varies.

Surrogacy can be done in a variety of ways:

1. Traditional surrogacy: It is also known as partial, natural, or direct surrogacy, is the most common type of surrogacy. The donor’s sperm fertilises the surrogate’s egg.

2. Gestational surrogacy: It is often known as complete surrogacy or host surrogacy. It was accomplished for the first time in April 1986. Gestational surrogacy occurs when an embryo is generated through IVF technology and put in a surrogate. Traditional surrogacy is a more legally complex process. It comes in a variety of forms:

• Embryos are made from the father’s sperm and the mother’s eggs.

• Embryos are made from the father’s sperm and the eggs of a donor.

• An embryo from a donor is implanted into a surrogate mother. The child born as a result is unrelated to the parents.

The surrogate mother is not biologically connected to the child. The gestational carrier (surrogate mother) should be between the ages of 21 and 45, have had one healthy, full-term pregnancy, and have had no more than five births or three Caesarean sections.

Surrogates’ most prevalent motivations include a desire to aid childless couples, as well as a desire to enjoy the experience of pregnancy and financial recompense.

Indications for surrogacy

Surrogacy can be used for a variety of reasons. It can be when women are unable to carry their child, when women have an abnormal uterus, when women have hysterectomy for reasons such as heavy bleeding or a ruptured uterus, when medical diseases such as cervical or endometrial cancer cause the uterus to be removed, when women have multiple miscarriages, when women have heart or renal conditions that make pregnancy dangerous, and when single men and same-sex couples are biologically incapable of having a child.

Legal Issues

Surrogacy is illegal in a large number of countries. Surrogacy is illegal in some countries, but it is legal in others. Some nations prohibit commercial surrogacy but allow altruistic surrogacy, in which the surrogate is not paid.

Commercial surrogacy is legal in the United States, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia, even for foreigners. Thailand outlawed commercial surrogacy in 2015 and only allowed Thai couples to use altruistic surrogacy. Since 2016, Cambodia has also prohibited commercial surrogacy. Commercial surrogacy has just been outlawed in Nepal, Mexico, and India. Surrogacy is legal and prevalent in Iran, and religious authorities permit monetary compensation.

Surrogacy laws must address the following issues:

 1. The enforceability of surrogacy agreements

2. Surrogacy methods raise a variety of concerns.

3. Mechanisms for recognising parents as legal entities.

Surrogate parenthood is unique and without complications, but it has devastating implications for the surrogate, the couple, and the surrogate infant. Surrogates give up the kid when it is born. Future studies should concentrate on the effects of surrogacy-related health inequities.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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