However difficult it might be for some of us to accept the “sale of pregnancy”, proposing a ban solely on ethical grounds is unrealistic and would just push the industry underground. Doctors, it seems, have been pushing for some regulation. Their emphasis, however, is on laws securing the legal status of the couples adopting the baby and not so much the rights of the surrogate mothers.

The ministry has a tricky task at hand. If, as some reports indicate, it plans to emulate the policies of “other” countries, it could go the vague way (like several US states where surrogacy is neither legal nor illegal), make it illegal or follow the Californian model and have strict guidelines regarding the rights of both parties involved. Or it could continue to sit in happy oblivion and insist that the “guidelines” issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research are adequate regulation.

But leave legalities aside. Just think a little bit about the implications of commercial surrogacy. The most obvious and much talked about implication is that it is a physical example of “motherhood” on sale. Sensational as that sounds, it’s hardly anything new. Even in an age driven by technological advances and dominated by market capitalism we want to believe that some things remain beyond both market and science, that there are some things that money cannot buy. And yet, in nearly every country, eggs, sperms, wombs, infants and children are being “sold” whether in adoption agencies or sperm banks or in the form of surrogacy services.

... contd.