At the end of last year, we reported that there was a growing interest among women in India to offer their services as surrogate mothers. Many women from around the world began flocking to India in order to find a surrogate who would carry their baby into the world at a very low cost. That trend may rapidly see a decline as a result of the fact that India is drafting new laws that could tighten up regulations on surrogacy in the country.
India is concerned that the baby industry there is growing out of control. Reports indicate that the combined business of surrogacy and IVF could be worth as much as $12 billion there this year. The country wants to institute more legal controls on this business in order to make sure that the procedures are safe for everyone involved.
"Voicing concerns that the surrogacy surge is built on the "economic exploitation" of Indian women, officials at India’s Women and Child Development Ministry said that political pressure is building to curb the "rent-a-womb culture". "
Other than the women in India who have been providing these services, it is primarily women in the UK and the United States who will be impacted by these changes. These are the two countries that send the most people to India and other places in order to get a surrogate at a low cost. The argument against the practice is essentially that women from these economically advanced countries are "taking advantage" of the lower economic position of Indian women by effectively buying their wombs at a low cost. The difference can be as much as $60,000 when the procedure is done in India as compared to the U.S.
Question of the Day: Should India create stronger laws to protect the women there from engaging in surrogacy?
