Legal Aspects of Surrogacy in India

Anyone looking for surrogacy or assisted reproduction in India should take into account the legal aspects of surrogacy in India. A person looking for surrogacy treatment in India through assisted reproductive technology or (ART), including the surrogate mother need to enter into the ‘legal surrogacy agreement’, which is imposed by the apex court in India.

It was the year 2002 when the Supreme Court of India recognized commercial surrogacy as legal. The Indian Government formulated the ICMR rules in order to safeguard and monitor the whole process of surrogacy in the more legal and ethical manner. In the commercial surrogacy, the surrogate mother has to be paid for carrying (full term) and delivering the child for the intended couples or parents.

The commercial aspects of the surrogacy have to be decided in advance between the intended parents, the surrogate mother and her husband. There are certain guidelines that have been established by the Indian Council for Medical Research. All of these guidelines have actually made commercial surrogacy in India legal.

The Contract

Contract in the process of surrogacy indicates to the legal declaration of key documents between the intended parents, the surrogate mother and her husband. The contract should show the intention of all the parties involved towards the procedure of surrogacy. It primarily acts as one basic guideline to the surrogate mother as well as the couple for any sort of issue in course of building the relationship for the surrogacy process.

Agreement

In a country like India, where there is no such specific law for surrogacy, the surrogacy agreement is made specific in order to deal with all the relative matters that concern the whole method of surrogacy. In the surrogacy agreement, every party involved in the procedure has to state the intention and concern related to the process and must agree to the regulations and terms set for the process. It also includes the purpose to gestate the child, the fiscal benefits that the surrogate mother will avail from the intended parents, the payment schedule for the contributed service.

It is important to have the surrogacy agreement before starting the process of surrogacy. As surrogacy is considered a sensitive issue to the intended couples and the surrogate and her husband, the whole process needs to be handled very carefully. All the terms and conditions in surrogacy agreement are set to handle any kind of worst situation at the time of the birth of the child.

The intended couples, surrogate mother and her husband need to agree and sign in the Surrogacy agreement before commencing on the actual process of surrogacy. All parties involved have to abide by the agreement and the contents.

Purpose of Surrogate Declaration

The sole purpose of confirming the surrogacy agreement is to know about the main intention of both parties involved regarding the treatment and the process. It is clearly stated in the legal document that the surrogate mother does not include any kind of parental rights. Nor does the surrogate mother intent or wish to have the legal or physical custody of the child.

It would be advisable to look for expert help to know about the various other legal aspects of surrogacy in India. You can seek advice and help for an experienced attorney in the reproductive technology law. It is also important for the surrogate to counsel with others while signing the contact.

Surrogacy is a complex issue and it involves several delicate matters. It is obligatory that both the parties give the written permission or consent before agreeing to the different terms as defined in the surrogacy agreement.