Couples look forward to Surrogacy Regularization in India

In Oct 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that "commercial surrogacy is legal and an industry in India", making it a legally protected and viable option for international couples. Now after 12 years, surrogacy in India has become a debatable sector.

Compensation, age and consent of the surrogate mother – the three major factors to be considered in surrogacy bill. Winter session of parliament is close and everyone has crossed fingers for a benchmark decision on surrogacy in India. Surrogacy in India has always been a controversial subject with activists blaming foreigners for exploiting poor women.

Recently, Department Of Health Research (Health Ministry) V M Katoch said to a leading newspaper that the final draft bill is now lying with the law ministry and, after being cleared, will be presented before the cabinet for approval.

It is a clear hint that the most debated practice in India is on the lines of regularization. In past 12 years, India helped thousands of couples to have children but the recent turn of events has put the practice under the scanner. Tightening of laws is suggested by activists and doctors to make the process transparent. India now has only the guidelines the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) released in 2002.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)Bill, 2013, it seeks to address issues like how many pregnancies can be allowed for a surrogate mother, the age of the mother and due compensation to be paid to her. The bill will also provide a framework for letting foreigners use Indian surrogate mothers.

In 2012, an Australian couple left behind one of the twins born to an Indian surrogate mother because they could not afford to bring up two children back home. Earlier in 2010, a German couple, Jan Balaz and Susan Lohle, had to wait for two years before they could take their twin babies home. Their twin sons, Nikolas and Leonard, were trapped in a citizenship limbo ever since an Indian surrogate mother gave birth to them in February 2008. The boys were refused passports by their parents` homeland because German nationality is determined by the birth mother. The issue was finally settled after a prolonged court battle.

According to a 2012 study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an estimated 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30 percent are either single or gay. In earlier versions - in 2008 and 2010 - the bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, which is the current practice. The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents.

Highlights of Assisted Reproductive Technologies(Regulation) Bill, 2013,

-       The Bill addresses all issues pertaining to ethics in commercial surrogacy.

-       The Bill is only to help infertile couples and should act as a deterrent to commercial surrogacy.

The CII study estimated that nearly 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30% are either single or homosexual.

-        However, the Surrogacy Bill will disqualify homosexual couples, foreign single individuals and couples in live-in relationships from having children through surrogate mothers in India. The law also imposes age restrictions on surrogate mothers.

-        Homosexuals and foreign single individuals are barred from seeking surrogacy assistance in India.

-       Other than this, many restrictions imposed are not encouraging for business.

In earlier versions—in 2008 and 2010—the ART Bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the Bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, the current practice.

-         The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents. Currently, IVF clinics decide the amount and pay the surrogate mother a portion. 

Last year, Home Ministry laid down certain norms on surrogacy as an immediate attempt to define the contours ofsurrogacy activities in India,

-        Home Ministry lays down conditions for grant of visa to foreign couples commissioning surrogacy in India

-        Home Ministry has already announced that it will not give tourist visas to foreigner nationals coming to India for commissioning surrogacy, of which several cases have been reported.

-        In order to ensure that the surrogate mother’s interests are protected, the Ministry said, such a visa may only be granted if certain conditions are fulfilled — the foreign man and woman must be duly married for at least two years.

-         The Ministry will also insist that the Indian embassy or Foreign Ministry of the country concerned enclose an acknowledgement, along with the visa application, that the country recognises surrogacy and that the child/children to be born to the commissioning couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as a biological child/children of the couple.

-        Besides, the couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective Indian surrogate mother. The Ministry has informed the Indian missions abroad that the commissioning couple needs to be told that they must obtain “exit” permission from the Foreign Regional Registration Offices before leaving India for their return journey.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi

MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)

DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology

FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons

DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)

Fellow in IVF & Embryology – (USA)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile:  +91- 9873083334, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com

Visit Our Websites

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre - Raipur

Low Cost IVF India - Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

Pahlajani Critical Pregnancy Care Centre - Raipur

Cross Border Surrogacy

Cross-border legal and ethical problems has recently become a concern for Indian surrogacy sector especially after a Thai surrogate mother bore twins and the Australian parents took the healthy child and left the one with Down syndrome behind in Thailand.

Surrogacy is having another woman bear a child for someone else. Surrogacy in India and its increasing popularity has increased the movement of couples towards the country for assistance. However, the thriving business comes with risks of to devious online brokers, questionable private clinics, thriving underground market.

Why cross-border arrangements are risky?

In different countries, laws are different even medical practices, customs or codes of ethics. Looking at the positive aspects of surrogacy, it empowers women to choose whether to participate and gain financial compensation for their valued service. Surrogacy also permits otherwise childless men and women to have children.

In vitro fertilization is fertilization in a laboratory by mixing sperm with eggs surgically removed from an ovary followed by uterine implantation. IVF in Raipur offers assistance to the couples with egg donation, IUI and other fertility techniques.

Most common are two types of “traditional surrogacy” where the surrogate is the biological mother and the sperm is from the intended father or a donor. The other four types are “gestational surrogacy” where the surrogate is unrelated to the baby with the egg coming from the intended mother or donor, and the sperm is from the intended father or donor. When both the egg and sperm are from donors, the baby is genetically unrelated to the surrogate, the intended mother or the intended father. In addition, the actual parentage is often undisclosed or unknown.

Australia and the United States, relevant laws vary by state or province and type of surrogacy. For example, while New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia permit altruistic surrogacy and Arizona, Michigan and Nebraska forbid surrogacy— California, Connecticut and Massachusetts are surrogate-friendly, making them magnets for couples from other places with stringent anti-surrogacy laws.

How to go about surrogacy in India?

Generally, the couples considering surrogacy option are not sure how to go about the process, from where to start or who to consult. They might find it difficult to list down authentic surrogacy clinics from the list of numerous faux and dead links all over the internet which might lead them nowhere. For them, there are few things they should consider before selecting a particular clinic.

1.      Ensure that you establish a direct contact with the doctor and not through any agencies.

2.    Read the success stories of the particular clinic you are considering for surrogacy assistance.

3.    Find out whether the doctor writes blogs for the patients.

4.    Try to resolve your queries and question everything before deciding. (Ask about how surrogate would be arranged? Egg donation process?)

5.     Calculate the cost and compare it with other clinics.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Obstetrician & IVF Specialist

(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)

MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi

MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)

DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology

FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons

DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)

Fellow in IVF & Embryology – (USA)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

(Mata Laxmi Nursing Home)

Anupam Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India

Phone:  +91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile:  +91- 9770997645, +91- 9329630455

Email - contact@raipurivf.com

Visit Our Websites

Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre - Raipur

Low Cost IVF India - Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre

Pahlajani Critical Pregnancy Care Centre - Raipur

What is Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2013?

Commercial surrogacy is practiced in India, where the surrogate mother agrees to carry a pregnancy to term for a fee for commissioning couples. A study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the year 2012 revealed that the surrogacy sector is worth $2 billion, despite being completely unregulated.

After regular attempts to regulate the surrogacy sector in India, an Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2013—an attempt by India to regulate commercial surrogacy—is likely to be presented to the cabinet on Thursday before being introduced in Parliament.

After making necessary modifications in the earlier versions of the bill passed in 2008 and 2010, the cabinet approved it with the vetting from Law Ministry and Planning Commission.

Below are the few highlights of Assisted Reproductive Technologies(Regulation) Bill, 2013,

-       The Bill addresses all issues pertaining to ethics in commercial surrogacy.

-       The Bill is only to help infertile couples and should act as a deterrent to commercial surrogacy.

The CII study estimated that nearly 10,000 foreign couples visit India for reproductive services and nearly 30% are either single or homosexual.

-        However, the Surrogacy Bill will disqualify homosexual couples, foreign single individuals and couples in live-in relationships from having children through surrogate mothers in India. The law also imposes age restrictions on surrogate mothers.

-        Homosexuals and foreign single individuals are barred from seeking surrogacy assistance in India.

-       Other than this, many restrictions imposed are not encouraging for business.

In earlier versions—in 2008 and 2010—the ART Bill relied on contract law to establish a relationship between the commissioning parents and the clinic. In the current version, the Bill states that a professional surrogate will be hired by a government-recognized ART Bank and not private fertility clinics, the current practice.

-         The compensation, as per the 2013 draft, will be a private negotiation between the surrogate mother and commissioning parents. Currently, IVF clinics decide the amount and pay the surrogate mother a portion. 

Last year, Home Ministry laid down certain norms on surrogacy as an immediate attempt to define the contours of surrogacy activities in India,

-        Home Ministry lays down conditions for grant of visa to foreign couples commissioning surrogacy in India

-        Home Ministry has already announced that it will not give tourist visas to foreigner nationals coming to India for commissioning surrogacy, of which several cases have been reported.

-        In order to ensure that the surrogate mother’s interests are protected, the Ministry said, such a visa may only be granted if certain conditions are fulfilled — the foreign man and woman must be duly married for at least two years.

-         The Ministry will also insist that the Indian embassy or Foreign Ministry of the country concerned enclose an acknowledgement, along with the visa application, that the country recognises surrogacy and that the child/children to be born to the commissioning couple through the Indian surrogate mother will be permitted entry into their country as a biological child/children of the couple.

-        Besides, the couple should produce a duly notarised agreement between the applicant couple and the prospective Indian surrogate mother. The Ministry has informed the Indian missions abroad that the commissioning couple needs to be told that they must obtain “exit” permission from the Foreign Regional Registration Offices before leaving India for their return journey.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

For surrogacy assistance visit our website – www.raipurivf.com

Or email – drpahlajaniraipur@gmail.com

Citizenship of Children Born through an Indian Surrogate

On September 4, the Apex Court of India took the issue of citizenship of child born in the country out of surrogacy in which biological parents are foreign nationals but birth mother is Indian. The next hearing is scheduled for the month of November. Till then, dual citizenship for surrogate children born in certain circumstances is being considered.

A few days back, series of surrogacy scandals lifted a lid on Thailand's largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry, which is an undeniable reason behind vigilance on surrogacy activities in India.

Because India does not offer dual citizenship, the children will have to convert to Overseas Citizenship of India if they also hold non-Indian citizenship.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has given Guidelines regulating Assisted Reproductive Technology procedures. According to one of the seven guidelines, the foreign couple undergoing surrogacy in India would require ‘exit’ permission before their return journey from India and would need to carry a certificate from concerned ART clinic regarding the fact that child/children have been duly taken custody by the foreign couple and the liabilities toward the India surrogate mother are fully discharged as per agreement. A copy of birth certificate(s) of surrogate child/children will be retained by Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO)/Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) along with photocopies of the passport and VISA of the foreign parents.

In India, the babies born through surrogacy are born stateless. This means they are not given Indian citizenship by virtue of the fact they were born in India. Prior to starting surrogacy treatment it is essential that all intended parents consult the embassy of their country to ensure they are able to get citizenship of their country for baby, which another guideline of ICMR.

However, from years and years, India is known the best infertility treatment in India. After the year 2002, India grabbed attention of couples from round the world to undergo IVF treatment. With facilities of low cost IVF in India, egg donors in India and best infertility treatment in India, the medical tourism in India has taken new leaps. Though India has been criticised for unregulated surrogacy sector, but there are clinics like Pahlajani Surrogacy Center in Raipur that has assisted a number of couples from India as well as overseas with infertility treatment. It is known for the high success rate of IVF and surrogacy in Raipur.

To read our success stories, visit our website – www.raipurivf.com

Or email me – drpahlajaniraipur@gmail.com

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Why Did Thailand Ban Commercial Surrogacy?

After the abandonment of a surrogate-born baby Gammy with Down’s syndrome by an Australian couple and as a case of nine surrogate babies allegedly with the same Japanese father hogged the limelight, Thailand banned commercial surrogacy on August 6.

Unregulated surrogacy industry flourished in Thailand without any resistance for years before discovery of the nine babies under the care of nannies in Bangkok soon after an Australian couple abandoned their surrogate-born boy with Down’s syndrome, while taking home their healthy twin sisters. For years, Thailand was a go-get destination for infertile couples in the highly unregulated market.

According to the draft, the new law would prohibit commercial surrogacy and those violating the law will face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 baht ($6,200). Agencies, advertisers or recruiters of surrogate mothers will face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($3,100).

The move came after surrogate-born baby Gammy, who is being raised by his surrogate mother in eastern Thailand. The surrogate woman’s allegation that his Australian biological parents took home their healthy daughter and abandoned the blond, brown-eyed boy with Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition sparked outrage worldwide. (Source: www.theguardian.com)

Another equally important snag with surrogacy industry in Thailand is Gender Section IVF. Gender selection is illegal in India, but a growing number of women are finding a way round the ban by going to Thailand where there are no laws against it. Doctors use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a method that involves producing embryos through IVF and implanting only those of the desired gender into the womb.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) enables the identification of genetic diseases in the embryo before pregnancy is established, and eliminates the need for possible pregnancy termination after prenatal diagnosis of a genetically affected fetus. Determining the sex of the embryo to avoid X-linked disorders remains a common indication for PGD, and the vast majority of such cases are carried out using fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) with DNA probes derived from the X and Y chromosomes.

Couples from around the world flock to Thailand for cheap, reliable gender selection treatment. But while half of them from the UK, Australia, Europe and the US are looking to have girls to balance their families, Indian couples have only one motivation as they want male heirs. 

Thailand has 42 clinics and medical institutes and 240 doctors licensed to use assisted reproductive technology. After tightening laws on commercial surrogacy, the gender identification is the major stumbling block to control unregulated surrogacy sector.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani 

Embryo Donation and Adoption

Embryo Donation is a method of family building, which combines assisted reproductive technology with adoption, so that instead of adopting a baby, infertile couples adopt an embryo. It is a form of third party reproduction, in which couples give their embryos to another couple after successful IVF. This embryo is transferred to recipient mother’s uterus to facilitate pregnancy.

At Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Center, when we perform IVF, young women often produce many eggs. These can be stored, and we do this by freezing them in liquid nitrogen at -196 degree Celsius. If the parents get pregnant they often agree to donate their embryos to other infertile couples, to help them start families.

Therefore, when you undergo in-vitro fertilization, conceive a child and find yourself left with extra embryos, then you can donate your embryos to couples in need.  Couples often freeze their embryos in case they want to expand their family more someday. But, if they decide not to expand their families further, they can donate the remaining embryos to infertile couples.

Embryo donation can be done anonymously or on an open basis. Occasionally, a "semi-open" arrangement is used in which the parties know family and other information about each other, but their real names and locating information are withheld, in order to provide a layer of privacy protection.

Couples who want to donate embryos have two options: They can go through a fertility clinic or an agency, and the experiences are quite different. Interested recipients undergo physical and psychological screening. If it’s a match, the embryos change hands anonymously.

Embryo donation can be carried out as a service of an individual infertility clinic (where donor and recipient families typically live in the local area and are both patients of the same clinic) or by any of several national organizations. The process described below is typical of an "adoption-agency-based" national program.

Genetic parents entering an embryo adoption program are offered the benefits of selecting the adoptive parents from the agency's pool of prescreened applicants. Embryo ownership is transferred directly from the genetic parents to the adoptive parents. Genetic parents may be updated by the agency when a successful pregnancy is achieved and when a child(ren) is/are born. The genetic parents and adoptive parents may negotiate their own terms for future contact between the families.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Becoming a Surrogate Mother – Ways to Draw Support from Your Family

For a woman to become a surrogate is a big decision. It can difficult to balance emotions with your family and it is important to have support from your family upon your decision to become a surrogate mother. It is necessary that your family, spouse and children are comfortable with your decision. It is because your family is your emotional support and therefore becoming a gestational surrogate holds same importance as it holds for you. Below are few ways you can break the ice with your family about surrogacy,

1. Discussion

Talk to your spouse openly about the idea without hiding your inhibitions and tell him the reason why you are thinking about embarking on. You should tell him that you have a strong desire to help another family. Once you are confident on your part and have valid reason to support your decisions, you are sure to convince your partner. 

You should understand that being a surrogate is going to affect their life enormously, and pregnancy means work for a spouse or partner too, with medical checkups, travel to meet with intended parents and other obligations. Your husband or partner needs to know that there are restrictions on intercourse after birth and in some cases during pregnancies as well.  

2. Use facts to deal with insecurities

Sometimes, husbands become insecure at the notion of his wife carrying “another man’s baby.” For such a situation, you need to tell him about the process of gestational surrogacy —there is no genetic tie to you or to your husband. If it takes more than one time to assure your partner, then do it. It is your duty to explain the process precisely and clear their doubts so that your family and the family for which you are carrying baby both are happy.

3. If you already have kids, thank them

It is important for your children to know about your decision. Do not make a mistake to leave them in oblivion. Pregnancy is something you cannot hide and it would be a wise decision to discuss things before your children start thinking otherwise. You should know that once you tell your children about it, they will be proud of their mother.

4. Avoid hiding things and be truthful

You should be positive about the whole idea of surrogacy and discussing things with your husband and children. Believing that things would work and everything will be fine will keep you going. Explain to children that mommies carry babies in their wombs, and that the intended mother’s womb just isn’t working — so you are simply helping another mother by carrying her baby for her until it is born.

5. Do not expect your children to accept things in first go

Give your family time to process the whole idea. Be absolutely certain your child is aware that the baby you’re carrying is not yours, is not a little brother or sister.

6. Reassure your family and remind them that they are needed

Never make your family feel ignored. Always tell them that you are doing this only because they were around you. Tell them about your ideas and your perspective. Reassure them early and often that this is not the case, and that this pregnancy is simply a wonderful and generous service you are performing for another family who cannot do it themselves.

Dr Neeraj Pahlajani

Does Bollywood, Set trends to boost IVF-Surrogacy Fertility Industry

Every time babies born through surrogacy are in news; After Aamir Khan, Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan is all set to become a father for the third time having through a baby via Surrogacy.  We thank to the Khans of Bollywood; the growing fertility industry is happy. It is time for the industry to attract more couples and medical tourists from Europe and America as well as local would be parents. Incongruously, it was his arch-rival Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao who made headlines by declaring they were having a baby through in-vitro fertilisation or IVF which went a long way in making these topics mainstream and getting rid of the taboo attached to it.

"Surrogacy is slowly becoming a popular trend in India. Top quality equipment, favorable pricing and a hassle-free 'legal' process has made it ideal for couples who fail to conceive naturally," says Dr Neeraj Pahlajani, Senior IVF Consultant at Pahlajani Surrogacy India.

“The incidence of infertility is much more prevalent than what we would like to believe. Up to one in six couples have difficulties in conceiving and many seek medical advice and treatment. But bells of joy are ringing in the life of many such couples, thanks to increasing awareness about Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Procreation is the greatest, most amazing gift of nature. Whether or not one believes in rival theo­ries about origin of life, the arrival of a new-born is always a moment of pure joy. Great civilizations and great cre­ations are the result of the urge to leave the best for posterity. And posterity is what most humans are engaged in cre­ating.

Human reproduction is a complex sci­ence of union of chromosomes but it all begins with a union of two individ­uals of opposite sex with that specific purpose - procreation. Our huge pop­ulation might suggest otherwise but the fact remains that reproduction still remains one of the most serious prob­lems faced by our people. For those who are physically and physiologically normal, having a biological offspring of their own is just about as natural as any other activity but for those who face difficulty in having a child of their own, the disappointment and trauma are unimaginable.

But thanks to new, emerging tech­niques in human biology- particularly reproductive biology - it is now possi­ble for all those unhappy couples to get a little bundle of joy they can call their own child. Practices of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have brought about a much-needed revolu­tion in human biology that has helped bring in happiness to hundreds of thousands of households around the world, but also helped the society get over the unfortunate stigma associ­ated with childlessness. The subject has been prohibited in the media and entertainment industry with the 2001 film Filhaal being the only serious attempt to focus attention on the issue. However, a string of recent events have not only brought the subject of assisted repro­duction out into the open for public discussion, but also revealed the ex­tent of the problem of infertility.

Infertility affects approximately 13-14% of reproductive-aged couples. It is defined as the inability to conceive after one year of properly timed, un­protected intercourse. This definition is based on the cumulative probability of pregnancy. If a woman in the reproductive age group and her partner have been trying to have a baby for at least one year with­out success, there are many tests, which can be done to find out the reasons why. If the cause of your infertility has not been investigated previously, the clinic will carry out the necessary tests. These tests may include an analysis of the man's semen and the conditions of the woman's uterus, fallopian tubes and cervical mucus.

While some patients will need only advice others may need drug therapy or surgery. But some may need counseling to go in for assisted re­productive techniques. The possible treatments of infertility include drug therapy; surgery to im­prove blocked or damages fallopian tubes; intra-uterine insemination using the husband's sperm; insemina­tion using donor sperm if the husband or partner has no sperm or very poor perm or risks passing on an inherited disease, in-vitro fertilization (IVF); egg donation with IVF; embryo donation and a few other techniques. An increasing number of women aged above 35 years, especially profession­als and upwardly mobile, are now re­ported to be opting for having children through IVF technique.

Experts suggest that late marriages, ca­reer priorities and finance are the key reasons for this trend. National Registry of Assisted Repro­duction in India, which main­tains records of all in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures in India, reveal that the number of women seeking test-tube babies has more than doubled since 2005. Doctors say that nearly 60% of patients above 40 have difficulty in conceiving naturally. The delay in opting for preg­nancy can be attributed to various rea­sons such as late marriage, career priorities and financial security. And due to awareness of procedures like IVF, women in their late 30s wanting a baby are more open to approaching doctors.

In Raipur - Chhattisgarh, the Pahlajani Test Tube Baby Centre does 150-200 IVF procedures annually, of which more than 50% are for women over 35. Most of these women are in the middle class, upper middle class, and high society, includ­ing many career women trying to beat the biological clock.

In National and International Arena

Celebrity endorsement of ART may be a recent happening in India, but in the west, it has always been a subject that captured public imagination. A host of celebrities have admitted without hes­itation about their reasons for turning to surrogacy. Hollywood actress Jen­nifer Lopez is reported to have gone in for Assisted Reproductive Technology at the age of 38; Other Hollywood celebrities included Emma Thomp­son, Courtney Cox and Celine Dion. A recent example is that of Hollywood actress Elizabeth Banks has a ten-month-old son through surrogacy and combines work as an actress with her new role as a mother.

Back to Bollywood again, assisted reproduction has become much talked-about because of a series of developments. First it was the birth of a child to film director Farah Khan who had been very open about the IVF procedure she chose to have a child. "I wanted to have chil­dren at a particular time and I had to choose IVF for it," she has said on record.

In December 2011, actor Aamir Khan announced the birth of a baby boy through surrogacy. His wife Kiran had a serious problem because of which she had problems in child birth. She had been advised IVF with the help of a surrogate, and this led to the accomplishment of having a son for her and Aamir. In the letter that Aamir and wife Kiran released to the media they thanked mir­acles of science and read: "This baby is especially dear to us because he was born to us after a long wait and some difficulty." It added that because of some complications, "we were advised to have a baby through IVF-surrogacy, and we feel very grateful to the Almighty that all has gone well."

Hopefully, this will take away the stigma attached to IVF in general and surro­gacy in particular, and more and more couples aspiring for parenthood will us surrogates to help them complete their family. IVF specialists hope that more and more couples shed their fears and come forward to fulfill their hopes of parenthood. However, some experts point out that if surrogacy gains popularity then it may become more acceptable as a method of family building and many-other infertile couples will follow blindly therefore misusing or overus­ing this technique. Due to lack of a proper law on surrogacy, the process remains a grey area. Presently, guide­lines formulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2005 are used for surrogacy cases. The latest development to clear the air about ART was the film Vicky Donor. Sperm donation laws vary all over the world, for example a single woman in India is allowed ART but it is illegal in various countries, so interested couples might travel to India where it is legal. Films -in India and elsewhere - have always played a crucial role in spread­ing awareness about social issues and problems. Right since the days when to interpretation of previously unthinkable subjects, films and tel­evision have helped in forming of pub­lic opinions. Hopefully, ART will be more widely acceptable now.