Question : FERTILITY CLINICS AGENCIES

(a) whether the Government is aware that due to lack of enough legal provisions to safeguard the interests of poor surrogate mothers they are being exploited by the fertility clinics/agencies in the country;

(b) if so, whether the Government is also aware that a surrogate mother receive only a paltry sum for being a surrogate mother, while the clinics/agencies involved take huge amount of money from the NonResident Indian (NRI) parents from western countries;

(c) if so, the details of such cases reported so far during each of the last three years; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to evolve and formulate a regulatory mechanism for fertility clinics/surrogacy industry with the provision to safeguard the interests of surrogate mother and children and also fix a payment structure for surrogate mother?

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI GHULAM NABI AZAD)

(a) & (b): Yes. The Government is aware through media reports that surrogate mothers are exploited by fertility clinics/agencies in the absence of legal safeguards.

(c): No such data is maintained.

(d): A draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill is under consideration of the Government to regulate fertility clinics and banks and to safeguard the interest of the stakeholders.