Critical Analysis of Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2016

A surrogate mother is a woman who agrees to carry a baby of someone else and becomes pregnant using some form of assisted reproductive technology. The commercial surrogacy which was legalized in India in the year 2002 had to be banned when it gave rise to a booming industry of foreign surrogacy requirements and fertility tourism. However, after the Union Cabinet cleared the draft Surrogacy Regulation Bill 2016 on 24th of August 2016, it received a severe backlash immediately being cited as discriminating and draconian with need for a critical analysis on medico-legal, social and ethical grounds. The salient features of the draft bill with critical analysis are being discussed in this paper.