The Sorry State of Indian Surrogates
By Gina Maranto, <i>Biopolitical Times</i> guest contributor
| 08. 06. 2013
The surrogacy industry in India is both booming and changing. A new 168-page report from the Centre for Social Research, a women’s advocacy group based in New Delhi, finds that the industry appears to be shifting from towns like Anand and Amritsar to the megacities Mumbai and New Delhi, which are more easily accessible to international travelers and have higher quality health care facilities. Surrogate Motherhood: Ethical or Commercial documents a range of disturbing conditions: Although the government has guidelines for assisted reproduction clinics, regulation continues to be spotty and current law affords scant protection to the poor, largely uneducated women who are being drafted to serve as incubators, or to the resulting children handed over to primarily foreign clients.
Foreign scholars and journalists have probed the Indian surrogacy business for some years. Within the country, groups like the Sama Resource Group for Women and Health have drawn attention to the broader practices of ART clinics, as in their 2008 publication Cheap and Best, which puts the industry in the context of global medical tourism and examines the...
Related Articles
GeneWatch UK has prepared a briefing on the genetic modification of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025
The upcoming Congress claims to be “where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action.” A major concern for those on the outside is that the Congress may advance plans to develop and encourage the use of synthetic biology in nature conservation. This could at first glance sound like...
By Aaron Ginn, The Washington Post | 09.12.2025
Earlier this year, I had dinner in D.C. with Jensen Huang, the president and chief executive of Nvidia. At one point, he said something that struck me: “Why is everyone here so negative?”
He wasn’t referring to the economy...
By Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times | 08.25.2025
Scientists have dreamed for centuries about using animal organs to treat ailing humans. In recent years, those efforts have begun to bear fruit: Researchers have begun transplanting the hearts and kidneys of genetically modified pigs into patients, with varying degrees...
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...
