The Union Cabinet has cleared the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, banning commercial surrogacy in India. As per the 2009 Law Commission Report, the assisted reproduction treatment industry is Rs. 25,000 crore industry. At a time when 'rent-a-womb' is thriving in India, it is needless to say the poor and rural women are subjected to exploitation.
Though the proposed law is timely, it is not far from controversy. For instance, unmarried couples, single parents, live-in partners and homosexuals cannot opt for surrogacy as per the new bill.
We were joined by Ramya Kannan, our Tamil Nadu Bureau Chief and a healthcare journalist and Dr. Priya Selvaraj, an eminent gynaecologist specialising in assisted reproduction treatment.
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