Commercial surrogacy is banned in most developed countries, including Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan and Thailand among others. India has no law regulating surrogacy and the bill took many avatars, with the government finally separating surrogacy from the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill in 2016. It turned the two countries into the world’s biggest hubs for commercial surrogacy over the past decade. Under India’s new bill, couples abandoning a baby risk 10-year imprisonment and a Rs 10 lakh fine, or both. It also makes it illegal for doctors to do procedures that hurt the surrogate mother and the baby’s physical and mental health.

Source: Hindustan Times August 24, 2016 09:02 UTC