Abhishekh Sarkar and R. Anupam Pillai, students at National Law University, Odisha, analyse the shortcomings of the Bill.
Abstract
The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2014 (the Bill) has been under the consideration of the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. This Bill is another humble step taken by the Government to deal with the long run hiatus of having an effective legislation to regulate surrogacy and other forms of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in India.
The main object of the Bill is to have a proposed legislation which aims at the proper administration and supervision of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics and banks in the country and for prevention of misuse of this technology in India. Further, it aims to curb malpractices of commercial surrogacy and illegal operation of clinics and banks in India. While the drafters of this piece of proposed legislation have put in a laudable effort to achieve the said objectives, a lot of loopholes and lacunae have remained with it.
The authors of this analysis have attempted to dissect the shortcomings of this Bill, and cull out the hits and misses of the drafters. With regards to each and every issue raised pertaining to the Bill, the authors have provided reform or amendment suggestions that can be used to further solidify the bases of this Bill.