Surrogacy Regulation Bill: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?
The bill doesn’t allow altruistic surrogacy for single parents, LGBTQ persons and those in live-in relationships.
The Quint got Nishtha Gautam, gender equality activist and columnist, and Rahul Easwar, author and activist, on a Facebook Live to discuss the surrogacy bill.
The new draft Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016, makes commercial surrogacy illegal in India. Passed on Tuesday by the Union Cabinet, it has sent the nation into a tizzy.
External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, said that the bill is relevant because India has become a surrogacy hub for childless couples, also paving way for unethical practices. She also said that the option of surrogacy for homosexual couples is against “our cultural ethos.”
The Quint talked about the issue with Nishtha and Rahul in an attempt to figure out if Swaraj’s comments hold any ground.
Video editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
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