India’s New Laws Land Heavy on Fertility Inc.

Context

India has come out with a set of laws that seeks to monitor and regulate surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs).

About

About Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART):

ART is used to treat infertility. It includes fertility treatments that handle both a woman's egg and a man's sperm. It works by removing eggs from a woman's body and mixing them with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman's body.
In Vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common and effective type of ART.
ART procedures sometimes use donor eggs, donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos. It may also involve a surrogate carrier.

India’s Fertility Market:

The Indian IVF industry is a potential USD 12 billion market that is growing at a steady CAGR of 20% Year on Year.

Laws related to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and Surrogacy:

In December 2021, Lok Sabha passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2020, which makes provisions for the safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services in the country while the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha in 2019.

Difference between the two laws:

Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill	Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill relates to surrogacy, an infertility treatment, where a third person, a woman, is the surrogate mother.	In ART, treatments can be availed by the commissioning couple themselves and it is not always necessary that a third person is involved.
Surrogacy is allowed for only Indian married couples.	ART procedures are open to married couples, live-in partners, single women, and also foreigners.
Under the Surrogacy Bill, there will be a National Surrogacy Board that will be involved in policymaking, and act as a supervisory body, and State Boards that will act as executive bodies.	The ART Bill provides for a National Board, with the powers vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure.