The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021

(1) This Act may be called the Surrogacy(Regulation) Act, 2021. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "abandoned child" means a child born out of surrogacy procedure who has been desertedby his intending parents or guardians and declared as abandoned by the appropriate authority afterdue enquiry; (b) "altruistic surrogacy" means the surrogacy in which no charges, expenses, fees,remuneration or monetary incentive of whatever nature, except the medical expenses and suchother prescribed expenses incurred on surrogate mother and the insurance coverage for thesurrogate mother, are given to the surrogate mother or her dependents or her representative; (c) "appropriate authority" means the appropriate authority appointed under Section 35; (d) "Assisted Reproductive Technology Act" means the Assisted Reproductive Technology(Regulation) Act, 2021; (e) "Board" means the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Boardconstituted under Section 17; (f) "clinical establishment" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the ClinicalEstablishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (23 of 2010); (g) "commercial surrogacy" means commercialisation of surrogacy services or procedures or itscomponent services or component procedures including selling or buying of human embryo ortrading in the sale or purchase of human embryo or gametes or selling or buying or trading theservices of surrogate motherhood by way of giving payment, reward, benefit, fees, remuneration ormonetary incentive in cash or kind, to the surrogate mother or her dependents or her representative, except the medical expenses and such other prescribed expenses incurred on the surrogate motherand the insurance coverage for the surrogate mother; (h) "couple" means the legally married Indian man and woman above the age of 21 years and18 years respectively; (i) "egg" includes the female gamete; (j) "embryo" means a developing or developed organism after fertilisation till the end of fiftysix days; (k) "embryologist" means a person who possesses any post-graduate medical qualification ordoctoral degree in the field of embryology or clinical embryology from a recognised universitywith not less than two years of clinical experience; (l) "fertilisation" means the penetration of the ovum by the spermatozoan and fusion of geneticmaterials resulting in the development of a zygote; (m) "foetus" means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on thefifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its developmenthas been suspended) and ending at the birth; (n) "gamete" means sperm and oocyte; (o) "gynaecologist" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Pre-conception andPre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (57 of 1994); (p) "implantation" means the attachment and subsequent penetration by the zona-freeblastocyst, which starts five to seven days following fertilisation; (q) "insurance" means an arrangement by which a company, individual or intending coupleundertake to provide a guarantee of compensation for medical expenses, health issues, specifiedloss, damage, illness or death of surrogate mother and such other prescribed expenses incurred onsuch surrogate mother during the process of surrogacy; (r) "intending couple" means a couple who have a medical indication necessitating gestationalsurrogacy and who intend to become parents through surrogacy; (s) "intending woman" means an Indian woman who is a widow or divorcee between the age of35 to 45 years and who intends to avail the surrogacy; (t) "Member" means a Member of the National Assisted Reproductive Technology andSurrogacy Board or a State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board, as the casemay be; (u) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (v) "oocyte" means naturally ovulating oocyte in the female genetic tract; (w) "Paediatrician" means a person who possesses a post-graduate qualification in paediatricsas recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); (x) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (y) "registered medical practitioner" means a medical practitioner who possesses anyrecognised medical qualification as defined in clause (h) of Section 2 of the Indian MedicalCouncil Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) and whose name has been entered in a State Medical Register; (z) "regulation" means regulations made by the Board under this Act; (za) "sex selection" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (o) of Section 2 ofthe Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994(57 of 1994); (zb) "State Board" means the State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Boardconstituted under section 26; (zc) "State Government" in relation to Union territory with Legislature, means theAdministrator of the Union territory appointed by the President under article 239 of theConstitution; (zd) "surrogacy" means a practice whereby one woman bears and gives birth to a child for anintending couple with the intention of handing over such child to the intending couple after thebirth; (ze) "surrogacy clinic" means surrogacy clinic, centre or laboratory, conducting assistedreproductive technology services, invitro fertilisation services, genetic counselling centre, geneticlaboratory, Assisted Reproductive Technology Banks conducting surrogacy procedure or anyclinical establishment, by whatsoever name called, conducting surrogacy procedures in any form; (zf) "surrogacy procedures" means all gynaecological, obstetrical or medical procedures,techniques, tests, practices or services involving handling of human gametes and human embryo insurrogacy; (zg) surrogate mother means a woman who agrees to bear a child (who is genetically relatedto the intending couple or intending woman) through surrogacy from the implantation of embryoin her womb and fulfils the conditions as provided in sub-clause (b) of clause (iii) of Section 4; (zh) zygote means the fertilised oocyte prior to the first cell division. (2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act but defined in the AssistedReproductive Technology Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

On and from the date of commencement ofthis Act, (i) no surrogacy clinic, unless registered under this Act, shall conduct or associate with, or helpin any manner, in conducting activities relating to surrogacy and surrogacy procedures; (ii) no surrogacy clinic, paediatrician, gynaecologist, embryologist, registered medicalpractitioner or any person shall conduct, offer, undertake, promote or associate with or avail ofcommercial surrogacy in any form; (iii) no surrogacy clinic shall employ or cause to be employed or take services of any person,whether on honorary basis or on payment, who does not possess such qualifications as may beprescribed; (iv) no registered medical practitioner, gynaecologist, paediatrician, embryologist or any otherperson shall conduct or cause to be conducted or aid in conducting by himself or through any otherperson surrogacy or surrogacy procedures at a place other than a place registered under this Act; (v) no surrogacy clinic, registered medical practitioner, gynaecologist, paediatrician,embryologist or any other person shall promote, publish, canvass, propagate or advertise or causeto be promoted, published, canvassed, propagated or advertised which (a) is aimed at inducing or is likely to induce a woman to act as a surrogate mother; (b) is aimed at promoting a surrogacy clinic for commercial surrogacy or promotingcommercial surrogacy in general; (c) seeks or aimed at seeking a woman to act as a surrogate mother; (d) states or implies that a woman is willing to become a surrogate mother; or (e) advertises commercial surrogacy in print or electronic media or in any other form; (vi) no surrogacy clinic, registered medical practitioner, gynaecologist, paediatrician,embryologist, intending couple or any other person shall conduct or cause abortion during theperiod of surrogacy without the written consent of the surrogate mother and on authorisation of thesame by the appropriate authority concerned: Provided that the authorisation of the appropriate authority shall be subject to, and incompliance with, the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (34 of 1971); (vii) no surrogacy clinic, registered medical practitioner, gynaecologist, paediatrician,embryologist, intending couple or any other person shall store a human embryo or gamete for thepurpose of surrogacy: Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall affect such storage for other legal purposeslike sperm banks, IVF and medical research for such period and in such manner as may beprescribed; (viii) no surrogacy clinic, registered medical practitioner, gynaecologist, paediatrician,embryologist, intending couple or any other person shall in any form conduct or cause to beconducted sex selection for surrogacy.

On and from the date of commencement of this Act, (i) no place including a surrogacy clinic shall be used or cause to be used by any person for conducting surrogacy or surrogacy procedures, except for the purposes specified in clause (ii) and after satisfying all the conditions specified in clause (iii); (ii) no surrogacy or surrogacy procedures shall be conducted, undertaken, performed or availed of, except for the following purposes, namely: (a) when an intending couple has a medical indication necessitating gestational surrogacy: Provided that a couple of Indian origin or an intending woman who intends to avail surrogacy, shall obtain a certificate of recommendation from the Board on an application made by the said persons in such form and manner as may be prescribed. Explanation.For the purposes of this sub-clause and item (I) of sub-clause (a) of clause (iii) the expression "gestational surrogacy" means a practice whereby a surrogate mother carries a child for the intending couple through implantation of embryo in her womb and the child is not genetically related to the surrogate mother; (b) when it is only for altruistic surrogacy purposes; (c) when it is not for commercial purposes or for commercialisation of surrogacy or surrogacy procedures; (d) when it is not for producing children for sale, prostitution or any other form of exploitation; and (e) any other condition or disease as may be specified by regulations made by the Board; (iii) no surrogacy or surrogacy procedures shall be conducted, undertaken, performed or initiated, unless the Director or in-charge of the surrogacy clinic and the person qualified to do so are satisfied, for reasons to be recorded in writing, that the following conditions have been fulfilled, namely: (a) the intending couple is in possession of a certificate of essentiality issued by the appropriate authority, after satisfying itself, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, about the fulfilment of the following conditions, namely: (I) a certificate of a medical indication in favour of either or both members of the intending couple or intending woman necessitating gestational surrogacy from a District Medical Board. Explanation.For the purposes of this item, the expression "District Medical Board"means a medical board under the Chairpersonship of Chief Medical Officer or Chief Civil Surgeon or Joint Director of Health Services of the district and comprising of at least two other specialists, namely, the chief gynaecologist or obstetrician and chief paediatrician of the district; (II) an order concerning the parentage and custody of the child to be born through surrogacy, has been passed by a court of the Magistrate of the first class or above on an application made by the intending couple or the intending woman and the surrogate mother, which shall be the birth affidavit after the surrogate child is born; and (III) an insurance coverage of such amount and in such manner as may be prescribed in favour of the surrogate mother for a period of thirty-six months covering postpartum delivery complications from an insurance company or an agent recognised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority established under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999); (b) the surrogate mother is in possession of an eligibility certificate issued by the appropriate authority on fulfilment of the following conditions, namely: (I) no woman, other than an ever married woman having a child of her own and between the age of 25 to 35 years on the day of implantation, shall be a surrogate mother or help in surrogacy by donating her egg or oocyte or otherwise; (II) a willing woman shall act as a surrogate mother and be permitted to undergo surrogacy procedures as per the provisions of this Act: Provided that the intending couple or the intending woman shall approach the appropriate authority with a willing woman who agrees to act as a surrogate mother; (III) no woman shall act as a surrogate mother by providing her own gametes; (IV) no woman shall act as a surrogate mother more than once in her lifetime: Provided that the number of attempts for surrogacy procedures on the surrogate mother shall be such as may be prescribed; and (V) a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy and surrogacy procedures from a registered medical practitioner; (c) an eligibility certificate for intending couple is issued separately by the appropriate authority on fulfilment of the following conditions, namely:-- (I) the intending couple are married and between the age of 23 to 50 years in case of female and between 26 to 55 years in case of male on the day of certification; (II) the intending couple have not had any surviving child biologically or through adoption or through surrogacy earlier: Provided that nothing contained in this item shall affect the intending couple who have a child and who is mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life threatening disorder or fatal illness with no permanent cure and approved by the appropriate authority with due medical certificate from a District Medical Board; and (III) such other conditions as may be specified by the regulations.

No person including a relative or husband of a surrogate mother or intending couple or intending woman shall seek or encourage to conduct any surrogacy or surrogacy procedures on her except for the purpose specified in clause (ii) of section 4