Indian surrogates feel hurt by government ban on foreign clients

NEW DELHI — For thousands of childless couples the world over, India has been the go-to destination to fulfill their dreams of becoming parents, thanks to its well-trained doctors, well-appointed fertility clinics and vast numbers of poor women willing to serve as surrogate mothers.

The Indian government recently banned surrogate services for foreigners and ordered fertility clinics to stop the practice of hiring Indian women to bear children for them.

India’s home ministry has ordered Indian embassies abroad not to grant visas to couples visiting the country for surrogacy, or “reproductive tourism” as the practice has come to be known.

A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the tightening of rules concerning surrogacy was to protect poor women from being exploited in the absence of legal safeguards.

Chavan, who served as a surrogate mother for two foreign couples, said her earnings through the two surrogate pregnancies ensured that her three children were able to complete their high school educations.

In the last decade, fertility clinics that carry out surrogacy have come up everywhere — in the major metros as well as in small towns.

[...] with it, there is a growing tribe of agents — men who procure poor women to serve as surrogates, said Manasi Mishra, a New Delhi-based researcher and author of two government-funded reports on surrogacy in India.



Since India legalized commercial surrogacy in 2001, thousands of fertility clinics have mushroomed across the country, making it a $1 billion to $2.3 billion business annually.

Activists in India say while the industry has proliferated, a lack of safeguards has led to rampant exploitation of thousands of poor, illiterate women by touts, agents, unscrupulous doctors and the owners of fertility clinics.