Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas welcoming their first child via a surrogate has again shown us how surrogacy is emerging as a preferred mode of parenthood for couples today.

Also recently there has been quite a buzz created by Bollywood with hits like Mimi revolving entirely around the concept. These instances have reopened the doors of debate and discussion that prevail in the country regarding the subject.

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas recently welcomed their daughter via a surrogate

What Is Surrogacy?

Often supported by a legal agreement, surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman undertakes to bear a child for the benefit of another person or individuals who would become the baby’s parents after birth.

Surrogates are of two types, traditional and gestational. A traditional surrogate mother is a woman who is artificially inseminated with the sperm of the father. They then carry and deliver the child to him and his spouse to raise. The traditional surrogate is the biological mother of the baby. This is because the father’s sperm fertilize their egg. It’s also possible to use sperm from a donor.

It is now feasible to collect eggs from the mother (or an egg donor), fertilise them with sperm from the father (or a sperm donor), and implant the embryo into the uterus of a surrogate using a process known as “in vitro fertilisation” (IVF). Such a surrogate will be a gestational surrogate.

Why Do People Go For Surrogacy? 

One of the most common reasons for couples to pursue surrogacy as a method to complete their families is infertility. While fertility therapy is a feasible option, it can be costly, time-consuming, and even ineffective.

Some women may find it difficult to conceive naturally due to pre-existing disorders or drugs. With heart disease or kidney difficulties, some women may have problems or find pregnancy to be life-threatening or dangerous.

Medications can also be prescribed, which can affect or prevent people from becoming pregnant. Complex uterine disorders, such as scarring, fibroids, or Asherman’s syndrome, can make it difficult for women to carry a pregnancy to term.

The gay filmmaker Karan Johar with his surrogate kids Roohi and Yash

Surrogacy is seen as a viable alternative for couples who are unable to conceive naturally. Same-sex couples, single persons, and those who find that their age prevents them from having a child naturally can choose gestational surrogacy to complete their family.


Also Read: Watch: 8 Instances Of Gender Fluidity And Homosexuality In Hindu Mythology


Some women are born without a uterus, which can have an effect on fertility. It is difficult for women to conceive naturally due to the lack of a uterus. Medical problems that affect a woman’s reproductive organs, such as cancer, may necessitate a hysterectomy, which is a surgical operation to remove the uterus.

If a woman has had previous pregnancy complications, surrogacy may be an excellent choice to consider in order to welcome a baby safely and healthily, and in many situations, the option is offered by the doctor.

Preeclampsia, incompetence, and reproductive difficulties are all common pregnancy complications. Surrogacy may be an option for women who have had trauma or severe problems in the past.

Surrogacy In India

Kanupriya, the first surrogate child of India

You all must have heard the story behind the birth of Balaram whose embryo was divinely transformed from the womb of Devaki to that of Rohini. While Hindu mythology provides various instances of phenomena that can be considered equivalent to surrogacy, surrogacy in its real sense did not begin in the country until the 70s.

Kanupriya, India’s first IVF baby and the world’s second, was born 67 days later on October 3rd, 1978. Dr. Subhas Mukherjee’s efforts to hide two mates in Kolkata resulted in the birth of Kanupriya. The birth of this first IVF Indian baby sparked a firestorm of debate.

Why The Controversy?

Mimi is a film that created awareness and sensitization amidst the public regarding surrogacy

Such debates were (and are still) sparked due to a varied range of social stigma attached to surrogacy, the most prominent of them being ignorance.

In a country where more than half the population is illiterate and people aren’t aware of new technologies, it’s a misconception among most people that surrogacy involves women having sex with alien men in order to conceive. They associate it with commercialization of motherhood and sex work, therefore, labelling it as ‘dirty work’.

The second aspect paving way for stigmatization are the gender norms it defies – the norms that ‘assign’ women to one man (the husband), one family (the family-in-law), norms according to which her body’s sole purpose is to serve them.

However, paradoxically surrogacy is also frequently portrayed in the literature as reinforcing gender disparities, with women becoming surrogates to address gender restrictions as mothers and wives!

The third reason why surrogacy, especially commercial surrogacy, is frowned upon is because it involves the buying and selling of human babies thereby turning motherhood into a profit-generating activity.

This is the fundamental reason why, in December 2018, the country passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016, which outlawed international and commercial surrogacy. With an estimated 12,000 children born through transnational surrogacy in India, India was still regarded as the main destination for commercial and transnational surrogacy.

The lower house of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, voted to change surrogacy into an altruistic, domestic, and relational practise after encountering controversies first in India and later in Asian countries such as Thailand and Nepal.

Surrogacy can now only be performed by a close Indian relative of a married Indian couple for no monetary compensation. Commercial surrogacy is a contentious issue, especially when it occurs in impoverished countries and is carried out by local women for wealthy international clients.

It has the potential to exacerbate gender, class, and race disparities, as well as contribute to the stratification of reproduction by rewarding the reproduction of the wealthy while “depriving or outlawing the mother-work of others”.

Last but not the least, there’s a major conundrum that arises in relation to the maternal relationship. Some researchers, particularly essentialist feminists, argue that pregnant women’s attachment to the fetus is unavoidable.

Surrogates expressed a definite effective yet detached attitude toward the future kid, and surrogacy was classified as a physical rather than an emotional activity.

As society is becoming more liberal with time, it is being more accepting towards homosexual marriages, single parenthood and a woman choosing not to bear a child. Needless to say, the evolving technology has made it all the more feasible and efficient.

Furthermore, commercial surrogacy is still a prime source of income for many poor women across the country. Are you in favour of surrogacy? Let us know in the comments down below!


Disclaimer: THIS STORY IS FACT CHECKED. 

Sources: Times of India, iPleaders, WebMD

Image Source: Google Images

Find the blogger @ParomaDey

This post is tagged under surrogacy, childbirth, surrogacy in India, commercial surrogacy bann, Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, Mimi, Kriti Sanon, Laxman Utekar, Dr. Subhas Mukherjee, in vitro fertilisation, homosexuality, single parenthood


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