The Buyt Desk
The government has made it mandatory for Surrogate Mothers to have Health Insurance for a minimum of 3 years. Let us know the details of this new surrogacy rule.
The government of India has come up with new rules for surrogacy. This has many mandates for couples opting for surrogacy, surrogates and surrogacy clinics. This fresh surrogacy rule also talks about health insurance plans for ladies opting to be surrogates. The couples who wish to have a child through surrogacy need to buy health insurance for the surrogate mother. The health insurance should cover the surrogate for a minimum of 3 years.
In India, Who can opt for surrogacy?
Surrogacy is a legal arrangement between two parties, where one party is a woman (surrogate) who agrees to get pregnant and bear a child for the benefit of another party who will be the legal parents of the kid. Gestational Surrogacy is the only type of surrogacy that is permitted in India. The surrogate gets pregnant through IVF. One who can opt for surrogacy is defined –
-
A single man or a pair of men(couple) who wants to start a family
-
A woman who has no uterus or abnormal uterus or missing uterus or surgically removed uterus.
-
A woman who has had multiple pregnancy losses resulting from an unexplained medical reason.
-
A woman whose illness makes it impossible for her to carry a pregnancy to viability.
-
A woman for whom pregnancy is life-threatening.
New rules for Surrogacy
In a gazette notification published on 21 June 2022, the union health ministry has described many rules for surrogacy. It clearly defines the requirements and qualifications of a surrogacy clinic, the format of a consent form and application form for registration of a surrogacy clinic and intending couple to avail of surrogacy. A few of the rules as per the Surrogacy Regulation Act 2021 are –
-
The couple opting for surrogacy needs to purchase a general health insurance cover for the surrogate mother for a period of 3 years from an insurance company or an IRDAI-recognized agent. The insurance cover amount should be sufficient to cover all medical expenses of surrogates that arise out of pregnancy and postpartum delivery complications.
-
The intending couple or man or woman has to give an affidavit in court as a guarantee of compensation for medical expenses, health issues, specified loss, damage, illness or death of the surrogate mother and such other prescribed expenses incurred on such surrogate mother during the process of surrogacy.
-
The gynaecologist will transfer only one embryo or up to three embryos in special circumstances in the uterus of a surrogate mother during a treatment cycle.
-
Only three attempts of any surrogacy procedure on the surrogate mother are allowed.
-
In case of any complication in pregnancy, a surrogate mother can opt for abortion during the process of surrogacy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
-
Every private (non-government) surrogacy clinic has to file an application for registration. It has a non-refundable fee of Rs 2 lakh. The registered surrogacy clinic should display a copy of the certificate of registration at a conspicuous place at its place of business.
-
Surrogacy clinics must have at least an anaesthetist, a gynaecologist, an embryologist and a counsellor.
-
The couple should be married for more than five years to opt for surrogacy.
