No Legal Right on Child for Sperm/Egg Donors | 16 Aug 2024

Source: TH

Recently, The Bombay High Court ruled that a sperm or egg donor does not have legal rights over a child and cannot claim to be the biological parent.

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman (the surrogate) agrees to carry and give birth to a child on behalf of another person or couple (the intended parent/s).
- A surrogate, sometimes also called a gestational carrier, is a woman who conceives, carries and gives birth to a child for another person or couple (intended parent/s).
Under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 a widow or divorcee aged 35-45 or a legally married couple can avail of surrogacy if they have a medical condition necessitating this option.
- The intended couple shall be legally married for at least 5 years. Indian man aged 26-55 years and a woman aged 25-50 years, who have no previous biological, adopted, or surrogate child.
It also bans commercial surrogacy, which is punishable with a jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakhs.
The law permits only altruistic surrogacy, where no money is exchanged, and the surrogate mother must be genetically related to the intended parents.
Upon birth, the child is legally recognised as the biological child of the intended couple.