The Times of India carried the following article on Surrogacy by Gay Couples in India.

BUNDLE OF JOY: Brad Fister with his child, Ashton, in Hyderabad on Thursday
US gay couple rents a womb in Hyderabad
City Woman Delivers Baby For Rs 4 Lakh
Roli Srivastava | TNN

Hyderabad: At an upmarket ethnic wear store in Banjara Hills, US citizen Brad Fister (29) carefully cradled his 22-day-old baby who carries his genes but is ‘made’ at a clinic in Hyderabad. On Thursday, 24 hours before he leaves for Kentucky, US, where he lives with his same-sex partner Michael, Fister said he was happy he was leaving India with ‘his’ daughter.

Fister and Michael, who owns a computer firm, spent an amount of $60,000 to get this child, are the first among a bunch of gay couples who are coming to Hyderabad seeking surrogate mothers to carry babies for them. In fact, Fister’s daughter, who he has named Ashton, is the first surrogate child case of an American couple handled by the US Consulate in Hyderabad.

Fister had come to Hyderabad last year when he donated his sperm which was fused with an egg donated by an Indian egg donor. The resultant embryo was then implanted in a surrogate mother and this entire procedure was carried out at a citybased infertility centre, a first such case (of two dads) for them. The child was delivered by the surrogate mother on January 28 and Fister says the baby girl is his reflection with his “chin and lips’’. The surrogate mother got paid Rs 4 lakh for carrying the baby, the going rate for rented wombs in the city. The presence of international clients in the surrogacy industry in Hyderabad, say industry insiders, have led to higher rates for surrogate mothers.  Rates, they say, have doubled over the last few months. Of the total Rs 4-4.5 lakh charged for the surrogate mother, the woman who delivers the child gets Rs 2.5 lakh and another one lakh is earmarked for her diet and comfort during the ninemonth period. The remaining amount of Rs 50,000 goes to the registered medical practitioner who would get the surrogate mother. Surrogacy, a $500 mn biz Hyderabad.

While questions are being raised on how ethical surrogacy is, it is an established business in the country with its worth reportedly pegged at around $500 million.

For those like US citizen Brad Fister, surrogacy is a boon. An interior designer, Fister says he always wanted a baby but adoption norms in the US are difficult. He made his first visit to India on January 25, 2009 after watching an Oprah Winfrey Show episode on surrogacy which featured Dr Naina Patel of an infertility clinic in Anand. She was, predictably, their first choice “But, Dr Patel declined because we are gay couple,’’ said Fister. He then came to Hyderabad, to Kiran Infertility Centre, through one of the many agencies that have come up to help such couples, both gay and straight, with surrogate mother deals. Of these, Surrogate Abroad Inc. that offers people based out of the US an end-to-end surrogacy service in India, clicked.The couple had already spent $ 20,000 in their quest for a child in the US and the promise of having an escort in India to facilitate their journey through the dusty streets leading to infertility clinics seemed good. For many couples, India is also a safe haven given that commercial surrogacy was legalised in 2002. Besides, the country has an additional advantage of the biological mother not staking claim to the child.

But if half the battle was about a pregnancy clicking, the remaining half was about getting the paperwork in place. Fister, for instance, underwent a DNA test along with his daughter at the US Consulate, for the child’s birth certificate. This was followed by an interview at the Foreign Registration Office at Purani Haveli for the child’s visa. At this point even the surrogate mother was also interviewed and her consent taken.

Benhur Samson, a native of Hyderabad and now based out of Chicago, is the CEO of Surrogate Abroad Inc, and has handled 26 cases so far. He says that a lot of people were going back from India disappointed, with nobody to finetune their search for a good clinic or even their stay here. And this is where he steps in. The flourishing business aside, legal eagles like G R Hari, partner, Indian Surrogacy Law Centre, Chennai, say that several surrogacy cases have landed in various courts and legal opinion should be taken before any international couples take a womb on rent in India.

The Indiana Court decided a very interesting point on surrogacy which is quite on debate all over the world. The question is who should be considered to be the legal parents of the child born through surrogacy.

A 11 month old baby referred to as ‘Infant R’ in Court Documents was conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization using a legally wedded couple’s gametes. The child was carried by the wife’s sister. On birth of the child, the name of the mother was left vacant and only the name of the father was filled. The Couple applied to the Indiana Court for a declaration that the wife should be declared to be legal mother of the child and that her name should occupy the mother status in the birth certificate. The surrogate mother too filed an affidavit in support of their petition. But the judge refused, ruling that “Indiana law does not permit a non-birth mother to establish maternity. Indiana law holds the birth mother is the legal maternal mother.” Attorney Steven Litz applied the Court of Appeals to intervene, challenging the constitutionality of Indiana’s paternity law because it allows men — but not women — to establish legal parenthood. Such similar stand was taken in Arizona and Maryland Court where the similar paternity laws in surrogacy situations were inadequate to deal with reproductive technology. The Judges clearly did not want to delve into constitutionality aspects and were looking for a simpler solution for the whole problem. The matter is still pending.

The same question is arising in every country where surrogacy is permitted. Who is the legal mother of the child? The similar facts of the Jan Balaz Case was purpose of Nationality/Citizen. So is similar the British Nationals case which was handled by me. The solution for this legal problem can be arrived only with a comprehensive legislation dealing with the intricate issues of surrogacy. The much larger issue of international surrogacy calls for a international treaty concerning surrogacy.

The Indiana Court decided a very interesting point on surrogacy which is quite on debate all over the world. The question is who should be considered to be the legal parents of the child born through surrogacy.

A 11 month old baby referred to as ‘Infant R’ in Court Documents was conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization using a legally wedded couple’s gametes. The child was carried by the wife’s sister. On birth of the child, the name of the mother was left vacant and only the name of the father was filled. The Couple applied to the Indiana Court for a declaration that the wife should be declared to be legal mother of the child and that her name should occupy the mother status in the birth certificate. The surrogate mother too filed an affidavit in support of their petition. But the judge refused, ruling that “Indiana law does not permit a non-birth mother to establish maternity. Indiana law holds the birth mother is the legal maternal mother.” Attorney Steven Litz applied the Court of Appeals to intervene, challenging the constitutionality of Indiana’s paternity law because it allows men — but not women — to establish legal parenthood. Such similar stand was taken in Arizona and Maryland Court where the similar paternity laws in surrogacy situations were inadequate to deal with reproductive technology. The Judges clearly did not want to delve into constitutionality aspects and were looking for a simpler solution for the whole problem. The matter is still pending.

The same question is arising in every country where surrogacy is permitted. Who is the legal mother of the child? The similar facts of the Jan Balaz Case was purpose of Nationality/Citizen. So is similar the British Nationals case which was handled by me. The solution for this legal problem can be arrived only with a comprehensive legislation dealing with the intricate issues of surrogacy. The much larger issue of international surrogacy calls for a international treaty concerning surrogacy.

The Indiana Court decided a very interesting point on surrogacy which is quite on debate all over the world. The question is who should be considered to be the legal parents of the child born through surrogacy.

A 11 month old baby referred to as ‘Infant R’ in Court Documents was conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization using a legally wedded couple’s gametes. The child was carried by the wife’s sister. On birth of the child, the name of the mother was left vacant and only the name of the father was filled. The Couple applied to the Indiana Court for a declaration that the wife should be declared to be legal mother of the child and that her name should occupy the mother status in the birth certificate. The surrogate mother too filed an affidavit in support of their petition. But the judge refused, ruling that “Indiana law does not permit a non-birth mother to establish maternity. Indiana law holds the birth mother is the legal maternal mother.” Attorney Steven Litz applied the Court of Appeals to intervene, challenging the constitutionality of Indiana’s paternity law because it allows men — but not women — to establish legal parenthood. Such similar stand was taken in Arizona and Maryland Court where the similar paternity laws in surrogacy situations were inadequate to deal with reproductive technology. The Judges clearly did not want to delve into constitutionality aspects and were looking for a simpler solution for the whole problem. The matter is still pending.

The same question is arising in every country where surrogacy is permitted. Who is the legal mother of the child? The similar facts of the Jan Balaz Case was purpose of Nationality/Citizen. So is similar the British Nationals case which was handled by me. The solution for this legal problem can be arrived only with a comprehensive legislation dealing with the intricate issues of surrogacy. The much larger issue of international surrogacy calls for a international treaty concerning surrogacy.

The Indiana Court decided a very interesting point on surrogacy which is quite on debate all over the world. The question is who should be considered to be the legal parents of the child born through surrogacy.

A 11 month old baby referred to as ‘Infant R’ in Court Documents was conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization using a legally wedded couple’s gametes. The child was carried by the wife’s sister. On birth of the child, the name of the mother was left vacant and only the name of the father was filled. The Couple applied to the Indiana Court for a declaration that the wife should be declared to be legal mother of the child and that her name should occupy the mother status in the birth certificate. The surrogate mother too filed an affidavit in support of their petition. But the judge refused, ruling that “Indiana law does not permit a non-birth mother to establish maternity. Indiana law holds the birth mother is the legal maternal mother.” Attorney Steven Litz applied the Court of Appeals to intervene, challenging the constitutionality of Indiana’s paternity law because it allows men — but not women — to establish legal parenthood. Such similar stand was taken in Arizona and Maryland Court where the similar paternity laws in surrogacy situations were inadequate to deal with reproductive technology. The Judges clearly did not want to delve into constitutionality aspects and were looking for a simpler solution for the whole problem. The matter is still pending.

The same question is arising in every country where surrogacy is permitted. Who is the legal mother of the child? The similar facts of the Jan Balaz Case was purpose of Nationality/Citizen. So is similar the British Nationals case which was handled by me. The solution for this legal problem can be arrived only with a comprehensive legislation dealing with the intricate issues of surrogacy. The much larger issue of international surrogacy calls for a international treaty concerning surrogacy.

SO much has happened in Surrogacy in India in the last one month. With these turn of events in such quick pace, we feel Indian Surrogacy Law is now getting a better shape. The following are the list of events which cover the quick change in the Indian Scenario of Surrogacy Laws:

  1. Guajrat High Court decides that Indian Surrogate Mother is the Legal mother of the child
  2. India’s First Suit for parental order was dismissed by the Civil Court at Anand
  3. The decision of the Gujrat High Court is challenged by Union of India at the Supeme Court of India.

The events listed above shall have a deep impact on the show nourishing Indian Surrogacy Law. It can be seen that the Surrogacy Law in India is now growing into areas which was never thought before, with issues arising much more mature and complicated. I shall be taking our reader through each of these issues in a phased manner, discussing the impact caused by them. The delay in writing about these was caused due to involvement of Indian Surrogacy Law Centre in these matters.