Worth an estimated US$445 million (S$680 million), commercial surrogacy is big business in India where 75.6 percent of its population lives on less than US$2 a day. Critics argue that India’s womb-for-rent industry amounts to exploitation, while a new bill is in the works to plug any loopholes in this controversial transaction.
Seven months pregnant, Meena is praying that this child will eventually deliver her family a better future. Stroking her swollen belly, the 34-year-old is as excited as any expecting mother, except the baby she is carrying is not exactly hers.
When the surrogate mother gives birth in Anand’s Akanksha Infertility Clinic, the newborn will be passed on to its biological parents — a childless American couple.
Surrogacy refers to the process in which a woman gets artificially impregnated, and after delivery the baby is returned to the commissioning parents. In India, the surrogate mother gets paid for her gestational services.
A successful delivery will make Meena Rs250,000 (S$7,444) richer, an amount her odd-job labourer husband Haresh would only be able to make in 10 years.
“With the money, I won’t have to worry about rent. I can buy a new house. My son will also have an education,” Meena said in her native Gujarati. “And I am also doing a good deed by providing the childless couple a baby.”
The couple that hired her had made their way down to the laid-back town from San Francisco, California, close to a year ago, to begin the surrogacy process.
Like them, many desperate couples from Singapore to Switzerland, as well as Indians living abroad, are flocking to India with revived hopes of finally being able to have a child of their own, drawn by the attractive combination of highly-qualified doctors, a flexible legal framework and low costs.
Fulfilling a dream
John and Sue Lee, both 37-year-old Korean-Americans, have been trying for a baby for the last seven years to no avail.
Desperate after failing seven Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) and three In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) attempts, the couple decided to turn to surrogacy as a last resort after reading about encouraging testimonies on Internet forums.
“We have already busted more than US$100,000 (S$153,139) in the States engaging top IVF experts with no results,” John said. “Of course, it helps that it is cheaper over here as we have already depleted much of our savings trying to fulfill our dream.
“I think this is a major pull factor for most childless couples thinking about surrogacy.”
According to top surrogacy clinics in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the number of surrogacy cases has soared over the last five years.
While there are no firm statistics, doctors say around 500 to 600 surrogate babies could be born throughout the world each year, with about 200 coming from India.
India’s average surrogacy success rate is 37.9 percent — for every 100 surrogacy attempts, about 38 babies are born.
Currently, industry experts estimate the industry to be worth US$445 million, with around 200 clinics documented across India offering surrogacy services. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), however, speculate that the number of clinics could be as high as 3000.
Intended parents are charged around US$20,000 for the entire surrogacy process — from initial consultation, the recruitment of the surrogate, her pregnancy, to the final delivery.
This figure could be as low as a quarter of what it would cost in the United States or Europe.
Controversial
Despite being hailed as a beacon of hope by many surrogate mothers and commissioning parents, surrogacy remains a controversial issue in India.
In 2008, the media reported the case of Baby Manji, a child born to an Indian surrogate hired by a Japanese couple through Dr Nayna Patel’s Akanksha Infertility Clinic.
Manji’s parents, father Ikufumi Yamada, 46, and ex-wife Yuki, 42, divorced shortly before birth, resulting in the baby getting caught in a legal tussle for months as Indian law prohibits single men to adopt.
Neither Yuki nor the surrogate mother wanted to take custody of whom Indian newspaper The Times of India dubbed as the country’s “first surrogate orphan”.
Baby Manji was finally allowed to leave the country only after the Supreme Court granted custody to Emiko Yamada, the child’s 75-year-old grandmother.
At its conclusion, Manji’s case set a precedent in Indian courts deeming commercial surrogacy to be legal.
Shaken Up
However, the surrogacy industry could still be shaken up by the upcoming Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill & Rules, which doctors hope would be passed at the next parliamentary session.
The main highlight of the new regulation, according to experts, is the assurance it offers to all the stakeholders of surrogacy.
It states that a surrogate baby will be recognised as the legitimate child of the commissioning couple even if they divorce or become separated, with the child’s birth certificate carrying both genetic parents’ names.
The draft Bill will also make it compulsory for foreigners seeking surrogacy services in India to provide documentary proof that they would be able to bring the baby back to their home country.
Another key clause rules that intended parents seeking surrogacy through assisted reproductive technology (such as IVF), and the surrogate mother, “shall enter into a surrogacy agreement which shall be legally enforceable”.
Once the law is enacted in parliament, a committee of experts, NGOs and fertility clinicians will also have the right to inspect and regulate clinics that offer surrogacy, said Dr Ajesh Desai, director of Gujarat’s State Institute of Health and Family Welfare.
Dr Gautam Allahbadia, a member of the drafting committee, said: “All the grey zones in infertility treatment will become black and white.”
On the surrogate’s end, the Bill also proposes that all of her expenses shall “be borne by the couple or individual seeking surrogacy”.
It adds: “The surrogate mother may also receive monetary compensation from the couple or individual, as the case may be, for agreeing to act as such surrogate.”
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