Bill awaiting House nod will end Karan Johar-like rent-a-womb

Mumbai, Mar 6: Bollywood director Karan Johar may be among the last few single Indians who could commission surrogacy within the legal ambit. Most clinics have stopped accepting single or gay individuals as clients, even though the Surrogacy Bill is awaiting Parliament's nod.

The Surrogacy (regulation) Bill of 2016 not only bans commercial surrogacy but also homosexual couples, people in live-in relationships and single individuals from having a child through the 'rent-awomb' method. As per the draft law, only childless Indian heterosexual couples married for a minimum five years and with proven medical problems are eligible for surrogacy.

Johar's twins Roohi and Yash were delivered by IVF expert Dr Jatin Shah, who told TOI, "It is overwhelming for all of us. Yes, we won't be able to do it (surrogacy for individuals) once the bill becomes an act." Johar, like most of his other clients, did not need more than one counselling session to make the decision, Shah said.

Shah, who also facilitated the birth of Shah Rukh Khan's son AbRam, refused to divulge any dates about when the surrogacy was commissioned. A simple math however tells that it would have been somewhere in June or July last year, perhaps just before the Cabinet had passed the bill on August 24.

A senior IVF specialist from Mumbai said, "If tomorrow somebody, who is unmarried or is in a same-sex relationship, gets inspired by Johar, they should be prepared to face rejection in 99% of clinics.

Most of us have stopped doing surrogacy work in grey areas due to regulations."

Several members of the fraternity also expressed displeasure once the news became public. "There is no illegality involved in this case. But it has taken us years to come to the same page as the government, which has amply made its likes and dislikes clear.

Such sporadic cases from the medical fraternity send mixed signals to the government," said another gynaecologist.

Head of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Dr Soumya Swaminathan said it once again brought out the reality about surrogacy in India. "Rich can afford surrogacy and the surrogate mother is always someone poor. While Johar happily accepted his twins, there have been cases where the commissioning parents have abandoned one of the babies," she said, adding that the law is an absolute must to safeguard the interest of such babies and surrogate mothers.