Becky Blab

A post at Desicritics highlights the recent case of the Japanese surrogate baby and how Indian laws fail to keep up with the changing demands of the times.

Although India has become the favored destination for those who are looking for surrogate mothers for their yet to be born babies as more and more Indian women are prepared to go through surrogacy, the laws have not kept up adequately to cope up.  Of course it is another matter that the reason that India’s laws being so lax and medical expenses being affordable and wombs being so readily available that has contributed to India’s rise as the favored destination for surrogate pregnancies.

Laws in India are paradoxical because they seldom seem to be in sync with society. On hand we have laws which society has not fully accepted like the laws banning child marriage which are flouted with impunity on occasions like akshya tritiya. Look at the data:  According to UNICEF, 82 percent of girls in Rajasthan, where the practice is particularly widespread, are married by 18; 15 percent of girls in rural areas across the country are married before 13; and 52 percent of girls have their first pregnancy between 15 and 19.

On the other hand, in matters of adoption, succession, divorce and many others including surrogacy society has moved far ahead but laws have not.

Ironic, isn’t it? I’ve posted before that Renuka Chowdhury is aware of the legal incongruencies regarding surrogacy and is working to change the law.

I’m also reminded of a recent case seen in court of a couple requesting to abort a fetus with a terminal heart condition. Because of the laws in place against sex-selective abortion, the couple is unable to abort their (male) fetus.

In India, abortion is illegal. However, it is permitted under law only in special circumstances, including when the woman is raped, when the child suffers from severe disability and failure of contraceptive devices.

“There are special circumstances provided under law when a woman can go in for an abortion - like when a doctor says that having a child would prove a risk to the life of the woman, cause her grave mental or physical injury or that the child may be born with severe disabilities,” added Bedi.

“It’s the need of the hour that we should legalise abortion as otherwise this will invite illegal means, which is more dangerous for our society,” said noted lawyer Pinki Anand.