oppn parties Tusshar Kapoor and Assisted Reproduction for Single Parents

News Snippets

  • SP drops two candidates owing allegiance to Azam Khan from Rampur and Moradabad
  • In Assam, a controversy erupted after a picture of UPPL leader Benjamin Basumatary, lying on a stack of Rs 500 notes circulated on social media. UPPL is an ally of the BJP
  • AAP's Jalandhar-West MP Sushil Kumar Rinku joins the BJP. He was the only AAP Lok Sabha MP
  • Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea to review its 2023 verdict in the PMLA case
  • Close save for passengers as they remain unhurt after the wings of two planes graze at Kolkata airport. Pilots derostered and inquiry ordered by DGCA
  • Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh gets notice from the EC as well as the BJP for making ugly remarks about Mamata Banerjee's parentage
  • Sadanand Vasanth Date, who faught terrorists in the 26/11 attack and was awarded the Preisent's Police medal, has been appointed the head of the NIA
  • Centre will borrow Rs 7.5L cr in the first six months of FY25, nearly 50% of the target for the full year
  • 25 stocks, including SBI, will see same day trade settlements from today in the world's fastest settlement mode in both BSE and NSE
  • Stocks recover smartly on Wednesday: Sensex rises 526 points to 72996 and Nifty 118 points to 22123
  • Tennis: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden reached the semifinals of the Miami Open
  • IPL: records tumble as SRH beat MI in a high-scoring match. SRH score 277/3 with 18 sixes and Mumbai score 246 with 20 sixes to fall short by 31 runs. Atotal of 38 sixes, highest in an IPL match were hit and both teams combined to score 523 runs, the highest aggregate in an IPL match
  • Amul will launch fresh milk in the US
  • IPL: RCB beat Punjab by 4 wickets as Kohli and Karthik shine with the bat
  • India strongly objected to German foreign office remarks over the arrest of delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, called it "biased assumptions"
Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena says government cannot be run from jail, hints at President's Rule in the capital ////// In a dangerous incident, the wings of two planes grazed while taxiing on the runway at Kolkata airport, all passengers were safe but DGCA ordered an inquiry and the pilots were derostered
oppn parties
Tusshar Kapoor and Assisted Reproduction for Single Parents

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2016-07-12 08:07:48

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
The news that Tusshar Kapoor, son of yesteryearsÂ’ star Jitendra, had become a single dad through the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) method by using a surrogate mother for his child has generated extremely diverse reactions in society. While many people have welcomed the move by pointing out that changing social mores have instilled a desire of having and raising children in both males and females without getting married, others have opined that this will ring the death knell of marriage as an institution. Some doctor-experts have also pointed out that allowing ART parenthood to singles is a violation of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines.

If we go strictly by the legal angle, ICMR guidelines provide that the IVF route to parenthood is to be provided only to married couples who are unable to have children. It has detailed guidelines for testing why the couple is unable to have children and has prescribed tests for both the male and the female partner. Doctors can prescribe treatment and the method only after tests are done to pinpoint the reason. In case of Tusshar, since he did not have a wife, it cannot be said that the couple was unable to have children. It was purely his personal choice to have a surrogate mother for his child. This naturally defeats the purpose for which IVF parenthood is allowed as of now.

This situation has arisen because there is no law to manage this. Despite the draft Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)(ARTR) Bill, drafted by ICMR, being in public domain since 2010, successive governments have either not considered the matter to be of importance or have not found time to convert it into law. Hence, despite exhaustive guidelines, there remain grey areas which are exploited by unscrupulous medical practitioners.

As far as social mores are concerned, although it is not a custom in India to remain single or have a live-in relationship and a majority of people still feel that marriage is necessary, a large number of people are looking at alternatives out of choice. Society needs to respect their choice and accept this. Hence, allowing ART parenthood only to married couples is something that needs to be revisited.

It is good to provide ART to couples who cannot have children. But it is not bad to provide the same to singles who wish to have and raise children without getting married. Hence, the draft ARTR Bill needs to be revised and put up for discussion. After that, it should be made law as soon as possible to prevent misuse and procedural illegalities by patients, doctors and clinics.