Despite the hard work of clinics in India to come to some agreement with the government, it was announced today that one clinic in Delhi would suspend working with everyone except heterosexually married couples who have been married longer than 2 years, in order to be aligned with the direction from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.
Hence for now, any single individuals, same sex couples or heterosexual couples not married or married less than 2 years may not be able to get an exit visa for their baby if they find a clinic to work with them.
Words cannot express the anger I feel towards this move (not towards the clinics but the government) and I hope there are repercussions felt amongst and within the government.
I hope this changes back to the way it was so clinics have the FREEDOM to work with whoever they choose in making dreams come true instead of having to comply with this discrimination.
Thankfully, for those that have frozen embryos and sperm in India, there are some issues still being worked out so there is still hope yet...
Hence for now, any single individuals, same sex couples or heterosexual couples not married or married less than 2 years may not be able to get an exit visa for their baby if they find a clinic to work with them.
Words cannot express the anger I feel towards this move (not towards the clinics but the government) and I hope there are repercussions felt amongst and within the government.
I hope this changes back to the way it was so clinics have the FREEDOM to work with whoever they choose in making dreams come true instead of having to comply with this discrimination.
Thankfully, for those that have frozen embryos and sperm in India, there are some issues still being worked out so there is still hope yet...
Toban, this makes my heart heavy. I'm so sorry. Obviously this is an extremely unfair decision because all families are equal and they should be treated that way, across the world. Thinking good thoughts. Big hugs...
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is really unfortunate as so many people's dreams will have to be put on hold. I would be very surprised if these new guidelines stick in the long run. In the short term though, I'm still waiting to hear final details on those with embryos there (me)... lots of grey area so I hope they will at least be reasonable with those who already have embryos frozen there. Thanks Doug :)
DeleteToban
ReplyDeleteAs of today's date, the US consular officials in India have not reported any new development involving American citizens who don't qualify for medical visas and who have frozen genetic material in India. The US officials are on top of this issue. I know you are Canadian but probably the same lack of information exists via the Canadian consular officials.
That's really the only reliable source of information we have at this point. I certainly would not listen to any info coming out of individual clinics or their agents as there are conflicts of interest there. Ditto for hearsay comments from FRRO, MHA, etc., unless you see it in writing you should not assume any of it to be true.
There is a very strong likelihood that what has happened is the new reality. Therefore, there are many people who need to start thinking about Plan B: what to do with their remaining genetic material in India. Some tough decisions may have to be made, but I certainly would not leave anything behind given the risk of mishandling.
Good luck
Hi Jon, thank you very much for that! Much appreciated. Regards, - Toban
DeleteI am hoping with all my might that this get resolved and answers come to you. This is all so unfortunate and unfair. I really hope there is a plan B for those with frozen genetic materialin iIndia at this time.
ReplyDeleteThank you Aleksandra :) I just read that the Indian Council of Medical Research has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, telling them that surrogacy in India is allowed for singles. So I hope this is a good sign!
DeleteThere was a letter of support sent from the ICMR to the MHA requesting a change in the MHA's directive to include singles/unmarrieds again. The MHA is supposed to respond to the ICMR by the end of this month. But just to put things into perspective, the ICMR is the American equivalent of the American Medical Association (the regulatory body for physicians/medicine), whereas the MHA is the equivalent of the Justice Department/FBI, rolled into one. Hopefully this gives some perspective in terms of the pecking order of these institutions. The ICMR is a regulatory body, not a judicial one. While the ICMR may endorse surrogacy for different cateogories of people, it is ultimately the MHA that establishes the rule on the ground. FRRO is a subsection of MHA, btw, so all FRRO activity is controlled by the MHA, not the ICMR. Ditto for the agency that issues medical visas. So you can see all roads lead to the MHA. The only ones who could overturn the MHA at this point is the Indian Parliament, but there is zero appetite for that body to pass any surrogacy act as it is too dangerous for any Indian politician to go on record with such a policy. Reminder: India is an extremely conservative and religious country. Even in the urban areas, surrogacy is viewed as a moral crime by the educated people, let's not even consider the remainder of Indian society just to give some context.
DeleteMy understanding is that the ICMR letter was more or less a conciliatory gesture to the overwhelming complaints filed by the $u$$oga$y clinic phy$ician$ and the re$t of the indu$try (sorry that friggin' "s" key is stuck on my puter), whose only source of advocacy in the government is, of course, the ICMR. Note words "conciliatory gesture" as most ICMR board members, it has been said, actually welcomed the new MHA directive banning certain groups. There doesn't seem to be much support for reversing the current stance save for a few dissenting voices.
Further, there is a wide misconception that the current directive came into existence in December. This is not true. The official directive was announced in July 2012. But given most clinics ignored this for six months (remember this is India after all, no one pays attention to directives unless the police knock on your door) it was only in December that the MHA demanded from its FRRO agents to enforce the directive. Which they did by having the police stations contact individual clinics and making sure they understood that they were non-compliant. I add this to clarify the confusion that exists for some regarding why people with recent births are being harrassed. It's because, in the eyes of the FRRO/MHA, these pregnancies were established around the time of the July 2012 announcement. (yes, some before July 2012, but again remember this is India, exact time is an abstract concept) I only give this little piece of trivia to illustrate how tense the environment has become and while the pregnancies established after July are facing some tedious harrassment, the full brunt of the MHAs wrath will surely be felt for those pregnancies established close to or after the December notice. It is those IPs for whom things may get very ugly if they, and their clinics, openly defied the directive. These IPs should be in direct contact with their consulates and embassies because they are going to need their full support to get out. There are still some malcontents in the cybersphere who maintain "well, they are American babies or Martian babies and no one can block them from leaving". Well, true. However, in order to get a US passport (or any other passport) the US consulate/embassy MUST HAVE a valid Indian birth certificate to process the citizenship application. Well, and guess who controls issuance of Indian birth certificates? I'm hoping they don't pull out that nuclear option but if people continue to try to circumvent their directive, they probably will. At which point the consulates and embassies will have ZERO authority to intervene.
DeleteNote: I add the July 2012 tidbit for those who are having problems getting refunds etc. One could make a legal argument that a clinic offered treatment in defiance of the July 2012 MHA directive for those people who are litigitous and have legitimate grievances with specific clinics and who felt they were misled. Yes, you can sue these clinics by hiring an Indian lawyer and you are perfectly within your rights. Will you succeed, probably not. Reminder: this is India after all and you are a lowly foreigner trying to sue an Indian business....hate to sound like a broken record
Thank you very much for taking the time to provide that background/insight! I found it very helpful and I'm sure other readers will as well.
DeleteTalk to Meg, she has all the legal opion, or I can give you Poonams e-mail address she is the leagal aid/lawyer we all use in Dehli. There was a rule set in place that no matter where you do surrogace if your single you must go to Dehli to get your exit visa to leave the country. Let me know Godd luck
ReplyDeleteMIchael
Hi Michael, thank you for the generous offer. I am not planning on returning to India just yet so I'm just watching from afar in the meantime and following Meg's blog closely for updates and I am in touch with her by e-mail. She is amazing and helping so many of us all over the world. Thanks again and congrats on your new family :)
DeleteThere is no rule in place that has been officially announced that states singles must go to Delhi for the exit process. That is pure speculation at this point.
ReplyDeleteI have setup a blog for informational purposes for American and Canadian citizens who are interested in India surrogacy and also the current problems.
We have a direct line of communication with the US diplomatic apparatus in India and can provide the absolute latest updates from an official standpoint. All else is pure speculation at this point.
Here is the link:
http://globalsurrogacy.blogspot.com/
Jon, that is awesome. Thanks for taking the initiative to set up that blog. I've followed... it will absolutely be very helpful to me and so many others. Cheers!
DeleteMy heart goes out to everyone this affects. Truly terrible.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the poster that wrote "Even in the urban areas, surrogacy is viewed as a moral crime by the educated people, let's not even consider the remainder of Indian society just to give some context" I respectfully disagree.
My husband is Indian and his family is educated. Even his parents (who are much older) were quite fine with us using surrogacy. Aamir Khan, a very famous actor in India, used surrogacy and has brought the details/acceptance with it to light among many. Previously many educated people were not aware of IVF, and did not understand that a surrogate did not have sex with a stranger to become a surrogate. Sadly, many uneducated people still do not, but IVF and surrogacy is so common in Indian culture, that hundreds (if not thousands) of clinics exist to serve the Indian population. It is a far bigger crime to most Indians to not be able to HAVE children then to hire a surrogate to do so. Family is EVERYTHING.
I wish you the best and hope this is resolved quickly to the favor of equality. Can't even imagine how hard this must be on you and others.
These things are all true, thanks for enlightening. I remember the first few times I went to the IVF clinic in Mumbai, I was quite surprised at the long lineups in the waiting room which were all Indian couples. I'd have to agree that it is quite common there and family > everything.
DeleteIn the end, I just want access to my frozen embryos and the option/freedom to try again. I'm hoping this gets worked out and they enact a grandfather act, which I've seen as a possibility and being mentioned on a few blogs so far.
A Passage to Baby,
DeleteIf what you say is true then why did they recently pass all these bans? I don't see any movement or protests by the Indian public to reverse these laws. Can you point to any poll or research paper that supports your assertion that surrogacy is acceptable by the public in India? You and your husband sound like NRI's, which is far different than mentality of resident Indians.
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