NCW to shed light on surrogate mothers' exploitation, rights

New Delhi: To deliberate upon the exploitation of surrogate mothers and discuss provisions to safeguard their rights, National Commission for Women (NCW) will hold a national consultation on Wednesday.

"Surrogacy in India is largely practised as commercial arrangement in absence of any statutory binding law and with draft Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, 2010 revised as ART (Regulation) Bill, 2013, still under revision, commercial surrogacy is mainly unchecked.

"There is an absence of legal framework which becomes a ground for harassment and exploitation of women and children in the country," a senior NCW official said.

The national consultation on 'Surrogate Issues' will invite experts to discuss the provisions to safeguard the rights of women and children and socio-economic strategies to address the exploitation of surrogate mothers.