SURROGACY LAWS IN INDIA: LEGAL AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS

Abstract

The growth in the number of people who use assisted reproductive technologies, particularly surrogacy, has made it particularly important to take a closer look at the legal aspect of this issue and its ethical considerations in India (Borah et al., 2020). This chapter reviews the laws of Indian surrogacy, explain the historical context of the legislation and provide a highlight of issues that emerge as the result of clash of interest between tradition, individual right of reproduction and commerce. It challenges as well as addresses the ethical questions of gestational surrogacy, especially on the nature of parenthood and the impact of this surrogacy on lineage and inheritance (Deonandan, 2020). The author will examine the application of existing legislations to the complicated relationship concerning commissioning parents, surrogate mothers, and the surrogate child concerning the applicable laws such as the Surrogacy Act, 2021. It has a tendency of not grasping the concept of intention to parent when the biological donation is through third parties (Baron, 2023). The chapter aims at offering a comprehensive review of the legal situation of surrogacy in India, which will evaluate benchmarks of its strength and weaknesses in addressing the multiple dimensions of the practice which continues to change. It will also take note of the macro impacts of these legislations on the debate on reproductive independence and the exploitation opportunity in vulnerable groups. Further, the chapter is going to discuss the interaction of surrogacy with adoption laws in India aspects of the interaction, gaps, or inconsistencies in one area will inadvertently influence the other, notably in respect to the rights and welfare of the child (Sriraam, 2020). It will also introduce the predisposed issues of the single parents and LGBTQ+ community to access assisted reproduction modalities, further examining the lawfulness of the connections between the existing Indian legislature and the supplies of protecting claimants on their reproductive liberty (Bose, 2020)(Sriraam, 2020).