LexBABY MANJI YAMADA versus UNION OF INDIA & ANR.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
[2008] 13 S.C.R. 1126 A BABY MANJI YAMADA V. UNION OF INOIA & ANR. (Writ Petition (C) No. 369 of 2008) B SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 [DR. ARIJIT PASAYAT AND DR. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA, JJ.] Constitution of India, 1950: Article 32 - Child welfare - c Surrogate baby - Writ petition challenging directions of High Court relating to production/custody of surrogate baby- Main- tainability of - Held: Not maintainable - Complaint in this re- gard was required to be made before the Commission consti- tuted under 2005 Act - Commissions for protection of Child 0 Rights, 2005. .. Words and phrases: Surrogacy, gestational surrogacy, Altruistic surrogacy, Commercial surrogacy - Meaning of - Discussed. E A writ of habeas corpus was filed in High Court by respondent no. 3-NGO, wherein certain directions were passed relating to the custody/production of a surrogate baby. The present petition is filed by grandmother of the surrogate baby on her behalf challenging the directions F of the High Court. It was stated in the petition that the bio- logical parents of surrogate baby had come to India in ... 2007 and had chosen a surrogate mother in Gujarat and entered into a surrogacy agreement with her. The surro- gate baby was born on 25.7.2008. On 3.8.2008, the baby was moved to Arya Hospital following the law and order G situation in Gujarat. Meanwhile, the genetic father had to return to Japan due to expiration of his visa. The stand of respondent no. 3-NGO was that there is no law govern- ing surrogation in India and in the name of surrogation .. lot of irregularities were being committed. The petitioner H 1126 BABY MANJI YAMADA v. UNION OF 1127 INDIA&ANR. · also questioned the locus standi of respondent ne. 3 to A -- file habeas corpus petition. Another grievance of the peti- _ Jioner was that the permi$sion to trayel ~o far as the child _ .was concenned including issuance of a Passport was under consideration -of the. Central Government; but no orders had been passed In -that regard. B Disposing of the Writ .Petition, the Court HELD : 1. Surrogacy is a well known method of re- production whereby a woman agrees to become preg- - nant for the purpose of gestating and giving birth to a c child she will not raise but hand aver to a coAtracted party. - _The ·word ·~surrogate", from Latin "subrogare", means "appointed to acfin the place of". The intended parent(s) is the indivfdual or couple who intends to rear the chii'cl . after its birth. hi "traditional surrogacy" (also known as 0 the Straight method) the surrogate is pregnant with her · own biological child, but this child was ·oonceived with _ · theJntention of relinquishing the chHd to be raised by oth-. ers; by the biological father and possibly his spouse or partner, ejther male or female. 'In "gestational sur,rogacy" . E (also know as the Host method) the surrogat~- becomes p~egna_n~ through embryo transfer with a chiid of -whi.ch she is not the biological mother~ She may have .made crn. ar~angenient to relinquish it to. the biological mother or father to raise, or to a parent wllo is· unrelated to the@ild (e. g. because the child was conceived using egg dona- F tion, germ donation or is the result of a donated embryo). _ The surrogate mother. may be called the gestational car-· - rier. ''.Altruistic surrogacy" is a situation where the'surro- gate receives no financial reward for her pregnancy_ or the relinq'uishment of the child (although usualtY all ex-_ G penses related to the pregnancy and birth are.paid by the intended parents such as medical ex}:)enses, ~maternity clothing, and other related expenses). "Commercial ~ur- , rogacy" is a form of surrogacy in which a gestational car- rier is paid to carry a child to maturity in her wo-mb and is H 1128 SUPREME COURT REPORTS . [2008] 13 S.G.R A usually resorted to by well off infertile couples who can afford the cost involved or people who save and borrow in order to complete their dream of being parents. This medi- cal procedure is legal in several countries including in India where due to excellent medical infrastructure, high interna- 8 tional demand and ready availability of poor surrogates it is reaching industry proporti~ns. Commercial surrog.acy is sometimes referred to by tlie emotionally charged and po- tentially offensive terms "wombs for rent", "outsourced pregnanci,es" or "baby farms". Surrogates may be relatives, c friends, or previous strangers: Many surro
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.