Renowned International surrogacy lawyer, Professor Dr.Andrea Buechler from the university of Zurich, visited our Bangalore center to know about surrogacy in India .
We had an interesting discussion with the Swiss professor on the topic “surrogacy in India”.It was indeed an eye opener for her, as the impression that she had from the documentaries she had watched was somewhat different from the reality in the field of surrogacy .
She was quite surprised to know that the surrogates are given an option to stay either at their home or in the hospital during pregnancy.She was even more amazed when she came to know that often children of surrogate mothers stay with their mom in the hospital during the term of pregnancy, many of them get a chance to go to school from the remuneration received from being a surrogate.Dr.Andrea was impressed to see that the surrogate mothers are provided with all facilities including bath attached single rooms, cooking facilities/nutritious food, proper counseling and medical care, care takers etc.We were proud to inform her that, we offer one of the highest remuneration for our surrogate mothers in India.Dr Mani gave a few examples, where the couples were able to save their family by having a baby through surrogacy.
We came to know that there are numerous European couples waiting to have surrogacy, as adoption is a difficult and time consuming procedure in the European countries .The modern lifestyle has resulted in late marriages and postponing of pregnancy, which has resulted in lot of sub fertility due to the advanced age of women .Many of them go to USA to have surrogacy done, where the cost of the treatment is very high.When the child is born in USA, they get US citizenship automatically at birth and they are brought to Europe on temporary visa.
It is really a sad state of affairs , as the patients have to undergo great deal of stress and strain just to complete their family.We have heard stories of babies separated from parents for several months, waiting for visa due to the official delays.
If the European countries reach a consensus , which is going to happen any way in future, to legalise surrogacy in their respective countries , then these couple will not have to undergo so much trauma and can have surrogacy easily done any where they want .Surrogacy in India is a good option as the cost is very low compared to the western countries.
We get large number of enquiries for surrogacy from countries in Europe, but currently we are unable to help them as they cannot get a medical Visa to do surrogacy in India .In order to get medical visa, letter from high commission is needed , stating that the country recognises the child as their citizen , if the child is born to a surrogate mother.
I am sure that legal advises from experts will make a difference in future .We wholeheartedly welcome international experts to help achieve a more modern out look towards surrogacy, by popularizing the concept .After all, every woman has the right to have a child and it is not fair to deny the right to motherhood.Those women who cannot conceive by any other means can realize their dreams only through surrogacy
Dr.Anita Mani
Infertility& Surrogacy Specialist at Gift IVF Centre
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