Important facts about surrogacy and its legalities
The practice of surrogacy is still surrounded by stigma and disinformation, and one of the primary reasons for this is the long-standing absence of legislative frameworks.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena approved the formation of District Medical Boards (DMBs) under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 in all 11 districts of the National Capital, a statement issued from Raj Niwas said.
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, notified by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, (MoHFW) on December 25, 2021, provides vide its Section 4 (3)(a)(1), that a District Medical Board (DMB) has to be constituted for the purpose of issuing a certificate of medical indication in favour of either or both members of the intending couple or intending woman necessitating gestational surrogacy from a District Medical Board.
Section 4 (iii) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 provides that no surrogacy or surrogacy procedure shall be conducted, undertaken, performed or initiated without the intending couple possessing a certificate issued by the appropriate authority (in this case District Medical Board) specifying the need for gestational surrogacy.
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“However, the constitution of the DMBs was kept pending by the Delhi Government ever since the regulation was notified by the Central Government, which forced intended beneficiaries to approach the Courts,” the statement said.
The formation of the DMBs in all 11 Districts, as approved by the L-G, will be constituted of a Chief Medical Officer/Chief Civil Surgeon/ Jt. Director of Health Services of the District as a Chairperson; Chief Gynecologist/Chief Obstetrician of the District as a member; Chief Pediatrician of the District as a member.
“Pending since December 2021, after the Central Legislation was enacted and notified, it took the court of Metropolitan Magistrate on June 25, 2022, and the High Court on July 11, 2022, to nudge the AAP Government into constituting the Board,” the statement added.
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