The Effect of Globalization on Commercial Surrogacy in India: An Analysis of the Proposed Ban on Commercial Surrogacy

Parenthood forms an important aspect of an individual’s life. Surrogacy can provide an option for the couple who are unable to conceive owing to certain physiological defects. The process of globalization has played a vital role in the development of commercial surrogacy, especially in India. Since India provides cheap and illiterate surrogate mother with no or very limited bargaining power, the foreign couples are more than willing to travel to India and involve in the process of commercial surrogacy in India through contractual arrangement. Although commercial surrogacy provides economic benefits to the surrogate mother, it also leads to their exploitation. The latest attempt by the government to address the challenges posed by commercial surrogacy in India is the Draft Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill of 2020. However, the 2020 Bill seeks to prohibit commercial surrogacy of any form and regulate altruistic surrogacy to be great extent. In light of this, the current study aims to analyze to impact of globalization on commercial surrogacy as well as the extent to which the 2020 Bill addresses the primary issues relating to commercial surrogacy in India.