The news about Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas becoming parents via surrogacy thrilled us all but at the same time, made us question why would they go for it? I mean, the first thing anyone would say is, oh, she’s an actress and she doesn’t want to spoil her body. The thing I thought of was, due to her pushing towards 40, her risk of getting pregnant will trigger tons of complications dangering the life of her and her child.
Others, however, were not so meek, particularly on Twitter, where people questioned and criticized harshly. Like many others, I was curious as to why they chose surrogacy. So I came up with the idea that they may have their genes in their child through surrogacy. But, why should it matter? You wouldn’t love the child any less if they were adopted. Adopting a dog, for example, you love it more than anything else in the world, despite the fact that it is not of the same species.
The big debate is whether surrogacy is good or bad. When it comes to surrogacy, each country has its own set of rules:
- Countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria prohibit all forms of surrogacy.
- In countries including the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Belgium, surrogacy is allowed where the surrogate mother is not paid, or only paid for reasonable expenses. Paying the mother a fee (known as commercial surrogacy) is prohibited. ‘
- Surrogacy for commercial purposes is permitted in various US states, as well as India, Russia, and Ukraine. However, in the United States, you cannot seek for citizenship for that kid until after its birth if the surrogate is from another country.
India and its rules:
- The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill in India, on the other hand, aims to make commercial surrogacy illegal while allowing altruistic surrogacy to continue.
- Altruistic surrogacy is defined by the law as surrogacy in which the couple pays nothing to the surrogate mother other than medical expenditures.
- Surrogacy that involves the sale or purchase of a human newborn is defined as commercial surrogacy, and it is outlawed in the country under this regulation.
- The couple must be Indians who have been married for at least five years and have no biological, adopted, or surrogate children (unless the child is intellectually or physically challenged or suffers from a life-threatening disorder).
Popular countries for surrogacy:
- According to experts, the United States, India, Thailand, Ukraine, and Russia are among the most popular surrogacy destinations among parents.
- Mexico, Nepal, Poland, and Georgia are among the countries that have been mentioned as possible surrogacy destinations.
The flag-bearers of this form of exploitation have been Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities. The reasons for surrogacy are limited, but when celebrities are associated with it, we become prejudiced and believe they are exploiting economically disadvantaged countries and their people.
The truth is we need to stop the nonsense, “The blood is thicker than water,” as even without that we can love people. We need to put effort into adopting kids that live without parents or family. Give a child home, that is the best thing you can do.
We must recognize that surrogacy is unethical on the part of the surrogate mother who is primarily motivated by financial gain. And what happens if the child is not healthy? In some cases, the couple has left their child with the surrogate.