Govt working on bill to regulate surrogacy

New Delhi: The government is "working" on finalising a bill which will regulate assisted reproduction like surrogacy, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday.

The Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) is revising the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, Minister of State for Health Shripad Yesso Naik said.

"The government is working on finalising Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill which also covers surrogacy," he said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

He said that during inter-ministerial consultation some ministries and departments submitted their comments which were considered by the Department of Health Research (DHR) in consultation with Ministry of Law and Justice.

"The ICMR is revising the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, based on these comments," he said.

As per reports, the bill 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 allow single parents to have children through surrogates. The bill states that health insurance and regular tests will be made mandatory for surrogates, as per reports.

Sources: http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/govt-working-on-bill-to-regulate-surrogacy_1559253.html