Childless Couples and Surrogate Women: A Study on 'Paid Mothers' of India

With increasing incidences of infertility, the surrogate mothers are considered as an alternative which enables childless couples to have a child of their own with the help of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). With a quasi-legal status along with the wide supply of cheap labour working as surrogate women, India has become the preferred place for surrogacy. Based on a field study in Kolkata city in 2012, the participation and perception of the various actors of this ‘clandestine’ arrangement has been captured, which include nursing homes, doctors, brokers, surrogate women and biological parents. It has been found that there is high demand for one’s own blood related child and couples keep persevering till they get success. This has led to the increase in the desire for surrogacy arrangement and almost all surrogate women interviewed admitted that they accepted this ‘work’ only for monetary gains. The surrogacy, as it is practised now in India as an Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) provides scope for the rich couples and private hospitals to ‘exploit’ poor women. This raises many alarming questions on human rights, reproductive health and professional ethics.