Surrogacy Comes Out of the Closet

Abstract

Should we fear the destruction of our culture because a 30-year-old woman from Chandigarh plans to `rent' her womb? Or should we just get down to figuring out the legal ramifications of a surrogate mother refusing to hand the child over, or the contracting parents deciding that they don't want the child after all? Or we just missing the point?

Reports that Nirmala intends to bear a child for an infertile couple - in exchange for Rs. 50,000 - have been received with dismay. Nirmala's unconventional plans to raise money for her invalid husband's medical bills seem to have woken everyone up to all the possible social, ethical and legal complications of the new reproductive technologies in India.