New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In November a gay Israeli couple “had” twins in India, born of one of the two fertilised eggs donated by one women donor and brought to term by another. The news has re-ignited debate over so-called “wombs to rent”: thousands of women who in exchange for money allow themselves to be implanted with fertilised eggs and give birth to other peoples children.
Akanksha Fertility Clinic, run by Doctor Nayana Patel in Anand (Gujarat), is famous: she currently has 50 pregnant Indian women cloistered in secret locations. They “rent” their wombs in Exchange for food, healthcare and compensation in cash amounting to 250 thousand rupees (6.308 dollars). Far more than a poor women in India would earn in a lifetime, enough to buy a small home or to pay for her won children’s education. But the price is advantageous for foreign couples, above all from Britain and the USA, who pay between 30 and 40 thousand dollars risking legal problems.
Christina Khajur, 38, who gave birth to a girl last year for an American couple explains “I've put the money in a fixed deposit. With the interest, I can pay my two boys' school fees and have a bit of security”. Khajur said she was well looked after during her pregnancy. "The only difficulty was being totally cut off. But it was necessary. If the people in my village knew, they would disapprove”.
Many of these women are married with their own children; for those who are single, during their isolation, Patel arranges for them to have computer and English classes so that they can enjoy better prospects after the birth. Patel admits money is a consideration, but claims she also wants to help “couples who cannot have children”. Indians generally tend to accept a woman bearing a child for an infertile relative, where infertile couplet are estimated to reach 19 million, but are somewhat uncomfortable when strangers are involved often resulting in protests: in Gujarat over 40% of cases are estimated to involve foreigners.
Many observe that this practise could damage relations between wives and husbands and fear that some husbands may force Indian women into accepting it in order to earn easy money.
There are few laws regulating the phenomenon, despite its being widespread for over 5 years, and only this October Renuka Choudhury, Minister of Women and Child Development, said that guidelines would eventually be formulated to protect the rights of both parties observing Without rules, this will become a commercial industry, and we run the risk that women will be exploited by unscrupulous elements”.
The news is greeted with approval by Patel, who expects more and more childless couples to resort to surrogate mothers as a solution, so “the sooner we clarify rights and responsibilities, the better”.