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Surrogacy in India Surrogacy in India
Web-blog of Indian Surrogacy Law Centre
  • Jan Balaz case Jan Balaz case
    supreme court of india rules german couple must adopt the child born through surrogacy and birth certificate shall carry name of surrogate mother
  • Queensland decriminalizes Altruistic Surrogacy Queensland decriminalizes Altruistic Surrogacy
    Queensland passed the was the last state in Australia to have decriminalized surrogacy arrangements. After seventeen hours of heated parliamentary debate, altruistic surrogacy was finally decriminalized in Queensland. The law is applicable for heterosexual, same sex couples and sole parents as well. An opposition Act was mooted that provided which considered surrogacy for same sex couples an offence. The opposition Act though debated, failed to be passed. All opposition towards homosexual couples and single parents using surrogacy was slammed. It would have been highly discriminatory had Queensland not permitted altruistic surrogacy for same sex couples and single parents, allowing it only for heterosexual couples.
  • Michigan couple lose their child to surrogate mother Michigan couple lose their child to surrogate mother
    Amy Kehoe and Scott – a couple from Michigan were trying for a child. Amy underwent miscarriage thrice and was medically advised surrogacy. The couple had found a surrogate mother named Shelly Baker from Detroit. Shelly Baker had four children and had already been a surrogate mother twice. The couple entered into a surrogacy agreement [...]
  • Indiana court to decide in vitro baby’s legal mother Indiana court to decide in vitro baby’s legal mother
    The Indiana Court decided a very interesting point on surrogacy which is quite on debate all over the world. The question is who should be considered to be the legal parents of the child born through surrogacy. A 11 month old baby referred to as ‘Infant R’ in Court Documents was conceived by In-Vitro Fertilization using [...]
  • US Consulate denies American citizenship to child US Consulate denies American citizenship to child
    I learn from a news report, Times of India, Chennai Edition dated January  25th 2010 of a strange case involving an American Couple where the American Consulate had denied citizenship to a child which was not genetically related to the Intended Mother. The intended mother reportedly had taken recourse to adoption for taking her [...]
  • Parliament soon to enact Surrogacy Law Parliament soon to enact Surrogacy Law
    The Solicitor General of India, Mr. Gopal Subramanian had informed the Supreme Court that the Government is presently considering the legal and moral aspects of surrogacy in India, and the law on surrogacy is expected soon. The German couple is left with the only option of adopting the twins, so that they could be taken to Germany, where surrogacy is an offence but international adoptions are allowed. The couple’s lawyer Nageswara Rao said inter-country adoption was cumbersome and time-consuming and it would be another five-six months before the couple could take the children home legally. The Supreme Court reminded the Government of India that the children of Mr. Jan Balaz are already in India for almost two years now and that the Government needs to act speedy with regard to children's case. Mr. Gopal Subramanian also informed the court that he had sent a letter to the Union of India over the issue and that he expects a speedy returns for the same.
  • Updates on Jan Balaz Case Updates on Jan Balaz Case
    Mr. Jan Balaz, the petitioner in the case pending before the Supreme Court had submitted before the Supreme Court that he shall be submitting his passports before the Indian Consulate in Berlin. He also agreed that a NGO in Germany shall respond back to India on the status of the children and their welfare. The [...]
  • The Telegraph writes on Indian Surrogacy Law Centre The Telegraph writes on Indian Surrogacy Law Centre
    The Telegraph had written an article on surrogacy recently making reference to the work done by Indian Surrogacy Law Centre in the legal issues. The link to the article may be found here.
  • Updates on Jan Balaz Case Updates on Jan Balaz Case
    I am making this post partly from the Supreme Court of India. I flew down from Chennai to here for attending the case of Union of India vs. Jan Balaz. The case was posted before the Bench consisting of G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly. The Solicitor General of India, Mr. Gopal Subramanian unfolded India’s stand that India is unable to grant Indian Citizenship to a children merely for the purpose of taking them to their homeland. Moreover, he wanted Mr. Jan Balaz to unconditionally submit to the Apex Court’s Jurisdiction even if he gets outside India. Senior Counsel Mr. Rao said he shall undertake to fulfill all conditions as imposed by the Union of India in order to take his children back to his nation. The case is next posted for hearing on the 4th January 2010. There are lots of unanswered hitches which are to be decided by the Supreme Court of India. Meanwhile, Indian Surrogacy Law Centre is still deciding it’s modalities of contributing for this case. I shall write on this subject more when there is an improvement.
  • Updates Updates
    Guajrat High Court decides that Indian Surrogate Mother is the Legal mother of the child India’s First Suit for parental order was dismissed by the Civil Court at Anand decision Gujrat High Court Union of India Supeme Court of India.

    • Australian Intended Parents

    Australian Surrogacy IndiaIncreasing number Australian couples are flying down to India every year for surrogacy arrangement. They either make their surrogacy arrangement with an Assisted Reproductive Technology Hospitals directly, or with agencies who offer Surrogacy Services. Most often, the prospective parents are guided by the people who have already completed their surrogacy procedures in India, and hence are comfortably informed about it. The issue of taking the child born out of surrogacy is settled and clear, provided the requirements of the Australian High Commission is followed.

    For information on how and where to lodge an Australian citizenship by descent application in India, please see: http://www.india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/vm_surrogacy.htmlhttp://www.india.embassy.gov.au/ndli/vm_surrogacy.html   

            The child born through Artificial Conception Procedures or Surrogacy Arrangement is eligible for Australian Citizenship through descent. The procedures and options for obtaining the citizenship by descent have been summarized below.

            The essential ingredient for the conferring of an Australian Citizenship on the child is that one of the Intended Parents is required to be Australian national. The nationality shall flow from that parent to the child. The legalities involved for obtaining the citizenship for the child is also comparatively an easy and clear procedure. For grant of the Citizenship by descent, either of the following is required.

    • One of his parents was an Australian citizen at the time of its birth
    • The  parent had acquired the Australian citizenship by descent provided they had lived in Australia for a period of two years at some point of time in their life

            It is appropriate for the intended parents to fix an appointment with the Australian High Commission well before the birth of the child. The contact details of the Australian High Commission, Delhi is address - 1/50 G Shantipath, Chanakyapuri - Telephone: 4139 9900 - Fax: 4149 4490.  A mail to the Australian High Commission mentioning the expected birth of the child would be advised, so that the appointment can be planned accordingly.

     Applications for Australian citizenship by descent for children born outside Australia as an outcome of surrogacy agreements are governed by the Australian citizenship Act 2007 which sets out a number of requirements for grant of the citizenship. The instruction guidelines is available at Children born through Surrogacy Arrangements applying for Australian Citizenship by Descent. Children born through Surrogacy Arrangements applying for Australian Citizenship by Descent.

            As per the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, the child born outside Australia as an outcome of a surrogacy agreement shall be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent provided one of its biological parents is an Australian citizen who has been sanctioned full parental rights by a court of law.

            In addition to the general documents, an application for Australian citizenship by descent for children born in India as an outcome of a surrogacy agreement must include:

    • Documents’ supporting that one of the intended parents is the biological parent of the child.
    • Documents supporting that the intended parent is recognized as the legal parent and the surrogate mother and her partner has waived her parental rights over the child.

    This can be submitted in the form of either court documentation OR DNA testing and written advice confirming legal parentage.

    Court Documentation :

    1. A statement from the doctor to the court clearly stating that the sperm of the intended father or the intended mother’s own eggs have been transferred to the uterus of the surrogate mother.

    2. A confirmation of the doctor’s statement regarding the transfer of the sperm/ovum

    3. Court documentation stating clearly the legal custody of the surrogate child and waiving the rights of the surrogate mother over the surrogate child.

    • DNA testing and written advice confirming legal parentage:

    In circumstances where the client is unable to obtain the above court documentation he will be asked to undergo DNA testing and to submit a legal advice confirming the validity of the surrogacy contract and their position as legal parents of the surrogate child. 

    DNA Testing

    The surrogate child and the biological parent will be asked to undergo the DNA testing at a lab recognized by the Australian High Commission. More information about it is found here.

    Documents in relation to donors of genetic material

    This constitutes any documents or records in relation to transferred sperm/ovum.

    Written advice confirming legal parentage

    Where the parents of the surrogate child are unable to provide court documentation, they would be required to provide a written advice from an lawyer registered from the Bar Council of India, who is an expert in the field of Indian family law or the contract law. The Lawyer expert shall state that the surrogacy contract entered between the surrogate mother and the parents is legal and confirming their position as legal parents of the child with reference to provisions of the Indian law.

    It should also include the following:

    1. Whether all the parties consent to the contract
    2. Whether the contract is enforceable by law
    3. Whether the contract sanctions full legal parental rights to the Australian citizen parent
    4. Whether the contract relinquishes any of the parental or any other rights of the parties to the contract
    5. Whether the contract includes evidence that the parties are still consenting and still agree to the contract after the birth of the surrogate child.

    The lawyer should also comment on his expertise in the field and should declare if he was involved in the drafting of the said surrogacy agreement. 

     

    Any clarifications on the issues of nationality of the child may be addressed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  .

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