The Government of India has modified the Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 and notified that both gametes need not come from a married couple in case they are certified as suffering from medical condition.
Key points
- As per the latest amendment, the couple can have a child born through surrogacy but must have at least one gamete from the intending couple.
- Also, single women (widow or divorcee) undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperm to avail surrogacy procedures.
- The latest amendment comes after the Supreme Court asked why the Centre was not taking a decision on the matter. The Union Health Ministry has now amended the earlier rules that stated that couples undergoing surrogacy must have both gametes from the intending couple.
- Form 2 (Consent of the Surrogate Mother and Agreement for Surrogacy) of the Surrogacy Rules read with Rule 7 was amended on March 14, 2023 to stipulate that donor eggs could not be used for gestational surrogacy of an intending couple. This has now been amended by a notification of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The District Medical Board can certify that either husband or wife constituting the intending couple suffers from medical condition necessitating use of donor gamete, then surrogacy using donor gamete is allowed subject to the condition.
- Single women [widow or divorcee] undergoing surrogacy must use self-eggs and donor sperm to avail surrogacy procedures.
- The Centre had in March 2023 issued a notification banning donor gametes for couples intending to undergo surrogacy.
- Surrogacy is the practice wherein a woman agrees to carry a foetus and give birth to a baby for someone else without having any parental rights on the child.
