Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2018 - Regulation of Surrogacy and Surrogacy Procedures

Chapter III

Regulation of Surrogacy and Surrogacy Procedures

4. On and from the date of commencement of this Act, -

(i) no place including a surrogacy clinic shall be used or caused to be used by any person for conducting surrogacy or surrogacy procedures, except for the purposes specified in clause (ii) and after satisfying all the conditions specified in clause (iii); (ii) no surrogacy or surrogacy procedures shall be conducted, undertaken, performed or availed of, except for the following purposes, namely:

(a) when either or both members of the couple is suffering from proven infertility;

(b) when it is only for altruistic surrogacy purposes;

(c) when it is not for commercial purposes or for commercialisation of surrogacy or surrogacy procedures;

(d) when it is not for producing children for sale, prostitution or any other form of exploitation; and

(e) any other condition or disease as may be specified by regulations made by the Board;

(iii) no surrogacy or surrogacy procedures shall be conducted, undertaken, performed or initiated, unless the Director or in-charge of the surrogacy clinic and the person qualified to do so are satisfied, for reasons to be recorded in writing, that the following conditions have been fulfilled, namely:-

(a) the intending couple is in possession of a certificate of essentiality issued by the appropriate authority, after satisfying for itself, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, about the fulfilment of the following conditions, namely:

(I) a certificate of proven infertility in favour of either or both members of the intending couple from a District Medical Board.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this item, the expression “District Medical Board" means a medical board under the Chairpersonship of Chief Medical Officer or Chief Civil Surgeon or Joint Director of

Health Services of the district and comprising of at least two other specialists, namely, the chief gynaecologist or obstetrician and chief paediatrician of the district;

(II) an order concerning the parentage and custody of the child to be born through surrogacy, have been passed by a court of the Magistrate of the first class or above, on an application made by the intending

couple and surrogate mother;

(III) an insurance coverage of such amount as may be prescribed in favour of the surrogate mother for a period of sixteen months covering post partum delivery complications, from an insurance company or an agent recognised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority established under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999;

(b) the surrogate mother is in possession of an eligibility certificate issued by the appropriate authority on fulfilment of the following conditions, namely:

(I) no woman, other than an ever married woman having a child of her own and between the age of 25 to 35 years on the day of implantation, shall be a surrogate mother or help in surrogacy by donating her egg or oocyte or otherwise;

(II) no person, other than a close relative of the intending couple, shall act as a surrogate mother and be permitted to undergo surrogacy procedures as per the provisions of this Act;

(III) no woman shall act as a surrogate mother by providing her own gametes;

(IV) no woman shall act as a surrogate mother more than once in her life time: Provided that the number of attempts for surrogacy procedures on the surrogate mother shall be such as may be prescribed;

(V) a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy and surrogacy procedures from a registered medical practitioner;

(c) an eligibility certificate for intending couple is issued separately by the appropriate authority on fulfilment of the following conditions, namely: -

(I) the age of the intending couple is between 23 to 50 years in case of female and between 26 to 55 years in case of male on the day of certification;

(II) the intending couple are married for at least five years and are Indian citizens;

(III) the intending couple have not had any surviving child biologically or through adoption or through surrogacy earlier: Provided that nothing contained in this item shall affect the intending couple who have a child and who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life threatening disorder or fatal illness with no permanent cure and approved by the appropriate authority with due medical certificate from a District Medical Board;

(IV) such other conditions as may be specified by the regulations.

5. No person including a relative or husband of a surrogate mother or intending couple shall seek or encourage to conduct any surrogacy or surrogacy procedures on her except for the purpose specified in clause (ii) of section 4.

6. (1) No person shall seek or conduct surrogacy procedures unless he has -

(i) explained all known side effects and after effects of such procedures to the surrogate mother concerned;

(ii) obtained in the prescribed form, the written informed consent of the surrogate mother to undergo such procedures in the language she understands.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the surrogate mother shall have an option to withdraw the practice of surrogacy before the implantation of embryo in her womb.

7. The intending couple shall not abandon the child, born out of a surrogacy procedure, whether within India or outside, for any reason whatsoever, including but not restricted to, any genetic defect, birth defect, any other medical condition, the defects developing subsequently, sex of the child or conception of more than one baby and the like:

Provided that any child born out of surrogacy procedure, shall be deemed to be a biological child of the intending couple and the said child shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges available to a natural child under any law for the time being in force.

8. The number of oocytes or embryos to be implanted in the surrogate mother for the purpose of surrogacy, shall be such as may be prescribed.

9. No person, organisation, surrogacy clinic, laboratory or clinical establishment of any kind shall force the surrogate mother to abort at any stage of surrogacy except in such conditions as may be prescribed.