Legalize Commercial Surrogacy!

Legalize Commercial Surrogacy!

Surrogacy is becoming a hot topic of debate for all factions of the society. In simple terms, Surrogacy is when another woman carries and gives birth to a baby for the couple who wants to have a child. There have been advantages and disadvantages of surrogacy and also many have raised ethical concerns regarding it. Surrogacy can be viewed as altruistic or even sometimes as commercial. However the main question to be discussed is not how much ethical surrogacy is, but should commercial surrogacy be allowed? Commercial surrogacy is legal in India as of now. But recently there are rumors and talks of banning it. Isolating surrogacy from the ethical concerns people voice, we must clearly discuss the commercial motivations and exploitations that form the core of commercial surrogacy. It will be pointless here to put forward ethical concerns voiced for surrogacy in general as over here while banning commercial surrogacy, altruistic surrogacy is still being allowed.

Yes –

1. It is just a win-win situation. The only concern that the opponents of commercial surrogacy raise is the exchange of money. Had money not exchanged hands, they would label it altruistic surrogacy and accept it. It seems like a lame opposition.

2. Legalizing commercial surrogacy will help the government decide what amount of remuneration is apt for the surrogate mothers. This will help in reducing exploitation of such women. Of the total paid fees, currently such mothers get only about less than half the fees. This can be brought into check.

3. Commercial Surrogacy in India is legal even now. The main problem is the lack of proper regulation. It makes no sense at all to annihilate the industry instead of improving regulation. Banning will not stop it and will simply make it another service which is available only in the black market. This will lead to more exploitation of the needy.

4. Some women might think of this as a means to earn livelihood. It is their right to make informed decisions regarding what course of action they want to take. To ban commercial surrogacy would be like taking away means of livelihood from them. Same livelihood argument can be made for smuggling too. But one needs to understand that smuggling adversely affects government and people at large. Surrogacy is an individual question, where directly or indirectly only the surrogate mother and the couple who wants the child are affected.

5. Instead of wasting time and resources on differentiating between commercial and altruistic surrogacy (which is as it is very difficult to prove), we must concentrate on regulating the industry.

No –

1. Prostitution is banned in India. Surrogacy is held on a much higher ethical ground than prostitution but still it involves selling or renting one's body for money. Thus it is aptly called ‘renting - a – womb’.

2. Legalizing commercial surrogacy can lead to similar arguments to be made in favor of prostitution which is currently illegal and is also considered unethical by many.

3. Human Trafficking is another concern for legalizing commercial surrogacy. It is difficult to identify what kind of surrogacy it is i.e. commercial or altruistic. Thus the risk of increase in human trafficking is huge as another avenue opens up for human trafficking.

4. In commercial surrogacy, the surrogate is paid a fee and is also compensated for any expense incurred during her pregnancy. Indeed, many surrogates have family incomes below the national poverty line, and many had been persuaded or coerced into undertaking pregnancy-for-pay by their husbands.

5. Life cannot be given away. It is a precious gift that we get from our parents. Putting a price tag on it and converting it into a business is unethical.

6. The main reason is the exploitation of the needy. Many things in India are legal and regulated. But are they well regulated? Why we should add commercial surrogacy to list of such not-so-well regulated things?

7. Money is at the heart of everything in commercial surrogacy. Opponents say that the couples are exploiting poor women in India — a country with an alarmingly high maternal death rate — by hiring them at a cut-rate cost to undergo the hardship, pain and risks of labor.

8. Legalizing leads to competition and this competition among clinics could lead to compromised safety measures.

One way of looking at commercial surrogacy is that it provides child to childless and livelihood to the needy. Thus this win-win situation should always be kept at the center of any policy decision. It has been reported that commercial surrogacy industry in India has crossed $ 2billion mark in 2014.What works for India is the cheap medical facilities, advanced reproductive technological know-how, coupled with poor socio-economic conditions, and a lack of regulatory laws. Iron- clad contracts and better monitoring and regulation can lead to a controlled environment which can help the government to keep an eye on surrogacy. Unchecked and unregulated growth of this industry can seriously jeopardize the moral fabric of the nation as well as the safety and lives of the surrogates and the children born of them.