Surrogacy in India: Problems of Legal Regulation

Abstract

The article examines the problems of legal regulation of surrogacy in India, which are not least associated with such phenomena as medical tourism and the “commercialization” of the female body. “Reproductive” tourism in India in the context of commercial surrogacy, starting in 2002, led to numerous scandals and calls to stop the exploitation of women from lower social classes, which ended with the adoption of the first surrogacy law in 2016, which introduced the concept of altruistic surrogacy and Commercial surrogacy is completely prohibited. Although some restrictions have been lifted in subsequent legislation, the debate surrounding altruistic and commercial surrogacy continues, partly because surrogacy is a relatively new concept in India. With the assisted reproductive technology industry so dominant, a “compensatory” approach to solving the problem is needed, analysts say. Recent changes to India’s surrogacy legislation in 2024 to allow for donation from entities other than married couples mean new regulatory issues for surrogacy that are yet to be resolved.