Overview of surrogacy laws in India and globally

Abstract

Surrogacy involves the practice of a woman carrying and giving birth to a child on behalf of another individual or couple, referred to as the commissioning or intended parents. However, the surrogacy process has been challenging for everyone involved from an ethical and legal perspective. This article outlines surrogacy’s history and contemporary legal advances in surrogacy-related law in India, and also covers the global perspective on surrogacy. The issue of cross-border surrogacy has always been complex, with various ramifications regarding citizenship, nationality, parenthood, and the rights of the child born through such surrogacy. Present regulations in India banned commercial surrogacy and restricted non-national couples from utilizing surrogacy facilities, allowing it only for couples with verified medical conditions necessitating gestational surrogacy, thus eliminating the formerly unregulated surrogacy practices. However, a few ethical, legal, and financial conundrums need to be addressed, as highlighted in the article.