Surrogacy Laws in India (A Handbook)

The book provides a comprehensive overview of surrogacy in India detailing its meaning evolution and current legal framework. Surrogacy involves a woman carrying and delivering a child for intended parents separating genetic parenthood from gestational parenthood and is categorized as traditional (surrogate is genetic mother) or gestational (surrogate has no genetic link). India transitioned from an unregulated global surrogacy capital (2002-2015) attracting foreign couples due to low costs but facing severe ethical issues like exploitation of poor women to enacting the restrictive Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021. This Act prohibits commercial surrogacy allowing only altruistic surrogacy where the surrogate must be a close relative of the Indian intending couple married and already a mother with no monetary compensation beyond medical expenses. The law mandates strict eligibility criteria for couples (married infertile Indians) excludes single individuals LGBTQ+ couples and foreigners and establishes national and state boards for oversight. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 complements this by regulating IVF clinics and gamete banks. Landmark judicial decisions such as Baby Manji Yamada (2008) which recognized commercial surrogacy and P. Geetha (2015) which affirmed maternity rights for commissioning mothers have significantly shaped the legal and ethical landscape emphasizing the need to balance reproductive rights with protections against exploitation while navigating complex issues of parentage citizenship and child welfare.