Two-Day National Conference On

Venue: Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Surrogate motherhood has grown exponentially in India to become part of a thriving globalized industry. However it raises difficult ethical, philosophical and social issues. Surrogacy essentially changes the unique biological ability of a woman’s body to reproduce, into a commercial business when a monetary transaction is involved. This is complicated further by the lack of strong legal provisions to safeguard the interest of the surrogate mother, the resultant child or commissioning parents in India.

Two research studies conducted by CSR on the issues surrounding surrogacy (in towns in Gujarat, Delhi, and Mumbai) has pointed towards various disturbing aspects of commercial surrogacy, leaving unanswered questions such as: Is it legal to become a surrogate mother in India? Will the child born to an Indian surrogate mother in India be an Indian citizen? Who arranges the birth certificate and passport required by the foreign couple at the time of immigration? Whose name will appear on the birth certificate? What if the surrogate mother changes her mind and refuses to hand over the baby or blackmails for custody? Who will take the responsibility of the child if the commissioning parents refuse to take the child? What would happen if the child is born disabled? What would happen if the sex of the child is not to the liking of the commissioning parents? Additionally, ambiguity surrounding the reasons behind pursuing surrogate babies leads to numerous ethical issues (for instance, our research quotes a shocking case where commissioning parents desired a surrogate baby in order to obtain organs for an ill biological baby).

Clearly, all concerned parties (surrogate mothers, commissioning parents and surrogate babies) are potentially short-changed in the present unregulated surrogacy industry.

CSR with support from Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS) is organising a two-day National Conference on 22nd & 23rd September 2014 at the Gulmohar Hall of the India Habitat Centre (IHC) to address various ethical, commercial and legal issues involved in the surrogacy arrangements to recommend policy makers rights-based legal framework.

Objective

The objective of the Conference would be to create better awareness and dialogue on the state of the surrogacy in India, especially with the direct objective to strengthen the current bill from a rights perspective. The conference will produce recommendations for a regulatory/legal

framework for the surrogacy industry in India that will also aim to safeguard the interests of all concerned parties.

Target group(s)

The participants of the Conference will be the major national associates and stakeholders who have vast experience in the field of reproductive rights, experts from a diverse community including medical, legal and academic. The voices from the NGO sector and the feminist world would be critical to concur upon a wide support for the policy recommendations that are intended as an outcome.

Some of the key issues that will be addressed in the Conference include:

• Rights of the three parties involved – surrogate mothers, commissioning parents, and the child focusing on health and legal issues
• Regulations to prevent misuse of surrogacy process for illegal or other unethical purposes
• Regulations to address aspects of the commercial surrogacy transaction and ensure protection of rights of all participants
• Regulations on health procedures/ standardization of drugs used in the surrogacy practice
• Defining ‘surrogacy’ broadly enough to address a range of different fertilization and implantation options
• Language promoting medical tourism and encouraging foreign clients –whether or not this is positive and regulations that should apply
• Issues concerning guardianship and citizenship of the resultant child

Dr. Manasi Mishra , Head, Research Division, Centre for Social Research (CSR)

2, Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070 India

Tel: +91 (0)11 26899998   Fax: +91 (0)11 26137823