Several fertility clinics across Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi are refusing fresh cases of surrogacy, as the new Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019, is set to be tabled in Rajya Sabha during winter session which is starting from November 18. Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.

The Bill has had doctors and clinics toreconsider surrogacy cases directed at prohibiting commercial surrogacy. Every year, doctors across India handle about 2,000 surrogacy cases and majority of them go unrecorded.

The National ART Registry of India (NARI) maintained by the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) is the nodal agency tasked with recording of surrogacy cases. Infertility expert, Dr Nayana Patel, known for handling Asia’s first surrogacy case in 2003, said this data is partially accurate as it reflects only the information voluntarily uploaded by clinics across India and many of them are not registered with ISAR.

With the Bill, IVF clinics are in indeterminate state on their surrogacy cases. Dr Samit Sekhar, owner of Hyderabad’s Kiran Infertility Centre, said that the Bill lacks clarity, so they have stopped accepting new cases since September. The Bill’s clauses are uptight with issues impossible to follow. The obligation of verification lies entirely on them. How can they ascertain if the surrogate is actually a close relative of the couple or is a first-timer — two main criteria in the Bill.

However, there are others who feel the Bill is a must. Author and activist Pinki Virani, who has been calling for a stop to the “unethical trade”, had told TOI that the Bill has loopholes, but are “pluggable”. It is important to understand that “the abetted human reproduction industry involves high stakes, made higher by a failure rate of 75%”. Practitioners present themselves as compassionate fertility fairies even as they continue patriarchy, making a woman feel worthless if she doesn’t have a child. Many feel the necessity to believe them. They don’t seem to mind the higher-than-average risk of cancers subsequently. She also said that it doesn’t seem to matter that more complicated the process of starting a tiny human in a laboratory, than more complex is the after-effect on that child.

A specialist at a reputed hospital in Mumbai said that the count of surrogacy cases are reduced since the drafting of the new Bill. It isn’t logistically possible to accept new cases, as preparation takes two to three months. Meanwhile, chances are the Bill might become law by the year-end, they don’t want to take a risk. He also added if the couples don’t fit the bill under the new guidelines, they might have to terminate the process midway.

Couples who are fixed on surrogacy and can afford are looking to Ukraine and Georgia for surrogacy services. There are also pockets in the USA where commercial surrogacy is still legal. Charges in India range between Rs 12.5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, overseas it might cost anything from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 31 lakh, travel, accommodation and other expenditures are not included. Doctors themselves are suggesting new destinations to couples. In Gujarat, Dr Patel said tie-ups were the only option.

Amongst couples affected are 36-yearold Krishna (name changed) and his wife whose multiple attempts at conceiving, even with IVF treatment, failed. In a letter to the Union health minister, they wrote that the Bill might be well-intended but has troubled them. They had shared their fear about the “altruistic surrogacy” clause that they fear would encourage “secret financial arrangements within family (and) malpractices”.

Dr Rita Bakshi said that such stories are plenty at International Fertility Centre in Delhi. She either refuses new patients or asks them to sign a mandatory affidavit even before considering their case.

Dr Bakshi disagrees with parts of the Bill, but acknowledges the need for regulation. She said that it could have been drafted to safeguard surrogate mothers are not exploited and couples opting for it follow due carefulness.

According to the Bill, only couples married for at least five years can choose for surrogacy. Also, there is no room for single parents either. Their only option will be adoption, when the Rajya Sabha passes the Bill. However, adoptions in India are not easy.

Srikanth and Sandhya (names changed) might be among the last surrogate parents in this country and waiting for their child to be delivered by April 2020.

Source: ET Healthworld