Opposition to govt: Define ‘close relative’ in Surrogacy Bill

New Delhi: Opposition members Wednesday asked the government to come out with the definition of “close relative” who can be a surrogate mother and suggested that the “changing reality” be included in the Surrogacy Bill, 2019, and single parents, trans-genders and live-in couples, too, be included in the ambit of commissioning parents.

The bill, which bans commercial surrogacy, mandates only a “close relative” to be a surrogate mother and also has a provision of five years of marriage for the commissioning parents.

Although the Bill was supported by most members cutting across party lines, a majority sought modifications regarding the time frame for abortion, time limit of age and prior informed consent, provision of allowances and insurance along with maternity leave for the surrogate mother, besides relaxation in the numbers of surrogacy.

Terming the bill as a “very complicated bill”, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh said that the government should get an amended bill passed after considering the suggestions of the members. He also suggested that the bill should have come after the Assisted Reproductive Technology bill as the government was “dealing with surrogacy but not with the technology of surrogacy”.

His party colleague, Amee Yajnik, said that although the bill concentrated on appropriate authority, national data board, data banks and other issues, somewhere, the child that was at the centre of this particular bill, had been forgotten.