Of wombs on rent

The case of the new born baby Manji Yamada who was borne by a surrogate mother in the village of Anand in Gujarat has kicked up a major storm about the issue of surrogacy and the need to regulate it.

Surrogacy is , according to some estimates, a 445 million dollar industry in India, with as many as 100-150 babies born to surrogate mothers every year. Most of the demand comes from childless parents in foreign countries because of the high cost of the operation and the stringent laws in foreign countries, many of which prohibit surrogacy altogether. Naturally surrogacy becomes a lucrative option for many women in India, especially those coming from poorer sections of society, as the money they earn can help them support their families. In addition to the money, many of these mothers also receive perks like a house, regular living and medical expenses during the duration of the pregnancy.

Personally I think the opposition to the concept of surrogacy is rather uncalled for. On one side you have couples so eager to have their own child (biologically, not adopted) they are prepared to pay the earth for it. On the other you have women capable of bearing children but with no means to sufficiently support their existing ones. In an ideal situation, surrogacy can only be a win-win situation, as long as there is no abuse involved.

Manji’s case would never have hit the headlines if it wasn’t for the unfortunate circumstance that her parents split shortly after her birth and the mother suddenly decided to abandon the arrangement. But the furore and the consequent legal wrangles it has raised are extremely unfortunate. I really can’t understand why the split should pose any hurdles for Manji to be handed over to her father if he has expressed the desire to do so. The ‘biological’ mother Yuki doesn’t even really come into the picture because the egg used was from an anonymous donor. Since she was conceived with his sperm, Ikufumi Yamada is the rightful biological father. How does the question of adoption arise in the first place? Before the split he was the father and now suddenly he is a single man waiting in line among many other prospective adoptive parents? Were the thousand other surrogate births before this also treated as adoptions? Isn’t there any difference between surrogacy and adoption?

I really have my doubts on the motives of this NGO Satya who has cropped up out of the blue demanding custody for the child. They seem to be against this concept of surrogacy and condemn the parents for abandoning the child. How did this become their business? What will they do with the child after taking custody of her? Obviously earn big bucks by giving her off for adoption to some foreign parents.

But the Manji case has definitely brought into the spotlight the need to have clearer regulations on surrogacy. Because any industry that involves so much money can very soon deteriorate into a money making racket (a la adoption in India). This can help ensure that the woman agreeing to the surrogacy is properly counselled and has taken an informed decision, that the couple ‘renting’ out the woman’s womb are obligated to adhere to certain financial conditions, and are legally bound to accept the child after its birth, so that the child’s rights are protected. The law should also ensure that all the proceedings are done in a transparent manner that can be tracked later on.

As for little Manji, rendered an orphan by the vagaries of fate, I don’t see how it can be in her interest to hand her over to some random NGO or a strange pair of adoptive parents as against her own biological father who is willing to provide for her (without going into the controversy of why he left India to see to some business in Japan, leaving his ageing mother to take care of the child)