Surrogacy has always carried echoes of myth and morality, but in today’s world it is also a story of science, law, and human longing. From couples who cannot conceive to women battling illness, assisted reproduction has opened doors that once seemed firmly closed. Yet India’s shift from a booming commercial surrogacy industry to the tightly regulated “altruistic-only” model has sparked as many dilemmas as it tried to resolve. Who gets access, who is excluded, and what pressures fall on women asked to carry a child for relatives? This blog explores surrogacy as more than just a medical procedure—it is a mirror to our anxieties about parenthood, ethics, and control over women’s bodies. The question is no longer simply whether surrogacy should exist, but how it can be shaped to balance compassion with fairness.
Introduction
Surrogacy represents one of the most remarkable advances in reproductive medicine, offering hope to couples and individuals unable to conceive due to infertility, illness, or biological limitations. Globally, surrogacy has been debated for its ethical, legal, and social implications. In India, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 has sharply restricted the practice to altruistic arrangements only, where a close relative acts as a surrogate without financial gain, except for medical expenses and insurance.1
While science has expanded the possibilities of parenthood, it is important to examine whether surrogacy reshapes the institution of marriage and family in India. In rural Haryana, where inter-caste, inter-faith, intra-gotra, and intra-village marriages are still violently opposed by khap panchayats, surrogacy appears to have little social resonance. Its impact is largely confined to urban, affluent families, not the agrarian village population.
Mythological Precedents: Alternative Births in Epics
Ancient Indian epics narrate extraordinary modes of conception that parallel modern assisted reproduction:
Niyoga practice: When King Vichitravirya died childless, his widows bore children through Sage Vyasa—Dhritarashtra (to Ambika), Pandu (to Ambalika), and Vidura (to a maid). This resembles third-party conception.2
Kunti’s boon: Through mantras, Kunti invoked deities to bear children: Karna via the Sun God, and later the Pandavas via other gods.3
Ramayana
Sita’s birth: Found in a furrow and raised as the daughter of King Janaka, symbolizing conception and birth outside the human womb.4
These examples reveal that unconventional reproduction has long been part of Indian cultural imagination. Modern surrogacy may thus be seen as a scientific articulation of age-old myths of alternative parenthood.
Historical Development of Surrogacy in India
1. Pre-2002: Surrogacy was practiced without formal regulation.
2. 2002–2015 (Commercial Boom): India legalized commercial surrogacy, attracting global “fertility tourism” due to low costs and advanced medical expertise.52015–2021 (Restrictions): Reports of exploitation, abandonment of surrogate children, and nationality disputes led to bans on surrogacy for foreigners (2015).6
3. 2021 (Surrogacy Regulation Act): Banned commercial surrogacy; permitted only altruistic surrogacy for infertile married Indian couples.7
4. 2023 Amendment: Prohibited donor gametes, mandating at least one biological link with the intending parents.8
Cost of Surrogacy in India
Though commercial payments are banned, the medical cost remains prohibitive for low- and middle-income families:
IVF cycles and medications: ₹4–8 lakhs per attempt.
Prenatal and postnatal medical care, including 36 months of insurance.
Hospital delivery charges, often higher for C-sections.
Legal and administrative expenses.
Total expenditure: ₹15–30 lakhs.9 For rural Haryana families, this remains unimaginable, making surrogacy an urban elite phenomenon.
Numbers of Surrogacy Births
India:
The Lancet (2012) estimated 25,000 children annually were born via surrogacy in India, half for foreign parents.10
Industry valuation: between $400 million and $2.3 billion annually before the 2021 ban.11
Current altruistic-only statistics are unavailable.
World:
Global numbers remain fragmented. The U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have been key hubs, though Ukraine’s war has disrupted its surrogacy industry.12
Social Impact of Surrogacy
1. For surrogate mothers
Commercial era: Poor women often coerced or misled; health compromised through multiple embryo transfers.13
Altruistic era: Risk of emotional pressure within families when relatives are expected to carry pregnancies.
2. For families
Surrogacy separates genetic, gestational, and social motherhood, reshaping kinship patterns.
Creates psychological complexities for both surrogate and child.
3. For society
Provides hope for infertile couples.
Reinforces the cultural emphasis on “own biological child,” often sidelining adoption.
Excludes LGBTQ+ couples, single individuals, and non-Indian residents, reinforcing traditional patriarchal family structures.14
Surrogacy and the Institution of Marriage
In rural Haryana, surrogacy is unlikely to impact marriage patterns:
Cost barriers: Prohibitive expenses limit access for villagers.
Legal hurdles: The requirement of a close relative as surrogate excludes most families.
Khap dominance: Current anxieties revolve around inter-caste, intra-gotra, and intra-village unions, which invite violent backlash, including honor killings.15
Thus, while surrogacy transforms parenthood, it does not address or disrupt entrenched rural marriage norms.
Complications and Ethical Concerns
Medical: Failed IVF cycles, health risks to surrogate.
Legal: Custody disputes, restrictive eligibility criteria.
Ethical: Autonomy vs. exploitation; psychological trauma after relinquishing the child.
Child’s identity: Concerns about genetic heritage and sense of belonging
Conclusion
Surrogacy in India symbolizes the intersection of mythology, science, and law. From the mythic births of Karna, Vyasa, and Sita to modern IVF laboratories, the desire for parenthood beyond biological limitations has always existed. The 2021 Act ensures regulation but also restricts access, confining surrogacy to urban, affluent families.
In rural Haryana, where khap panchayats still violently oppose inter-caste and intra-gotra marriages, surrogacy has no immediate impact. Its social reach is negligible, though its symbolic significance is profound: the triumph of science over infertility.
Ultimately, surrogacy does not threaten the institution of marriage; instead, it affirms the human aspiration for continuity of life, even as India struggles with deeper questions of marital freedom, caste, and social justice.
References:
Footnotes-
1. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, Government of India.
2. Mahabharata, Adi Parva and Sambhava Parva (accounts of Niyoga).
3. Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Kunti’s boon to invoke deities.
4. Ramayana, Balakanda (birth of Sita).
5. Pande, Amrita (2010). Commercial Surrogacy in India: Manufacturing a Perfect Mother-Worker. Signs.
6. Government of India notification banning surrogacy for foreigners, 2015.
7. Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, Section 4–7.
8. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Notification, 2023 (Amendment to Surrogacy Rules).
9. Estimates based on IVF clinics in Delhi and Mumbai (2023–2024 data).
10. The Lancet, 2012 report on India’s surrogacy industry.
11. Confederation of Indian Industry report (2012); UN-backed study (2012).
12. Rotabi, K. S. & Bromfield, N. F. (2012). The decline in intercountry adoptions and new practices of global surrogacy. Social Work.
13. Saravanan, Sheela (2018). A Transnational Feminist View of Surrogacy Biomarkets in India. Springer.
14. Sen, Amita (2022). Exclusionary laws: Surrogacy and ART regulation in India. Economic & Political Weekly.
15. Manoj Yadav (2018). Khap Panchayats and Honour Killings in Haryana. Indian Journal of Social Development.
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