Surrogacy bill like ‘draft from stone ages’: Congress

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) The Congress today came down hardon the surrogacy bill saying it "resembled a draft from thestone ages and was brought out by "surrogate organisations"like the RSS and VHP. Making a strong plea for reconsideration of the measure,party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters that the newbill seems to be "something resembling a draft from the stoneages" and not in keeping with contemporary India. Insisting that a "most anti-liberal approach" isfollowed in drafting the legislation, he said that it is notat all in line with the "social milieu that we live in and isnon-scientific". Lamenting that all kinds of value judgments have beeninjected into it in a "very paternalistic manner", he faultedthe bill for excluding surrogacy by live-in couples, thosewith adopted children, those with a single child, homosexuals,NRIs and foreigners. "Why are they restricting surrogacy only to marriedcouples? Surrogacy could be desired by widows, live-inpartners and NRIs among others", he said it was strange thatthe reason for excluding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) andforeigners is that divorces are very common in foreigncountries. Singhvi wondered "if all the categories are banned, thenwhy have surrogacy at all". "They have delegated the drafting of this surrogacy billperhaps to the surrogate RSS and VHP. This is a surrogatedelegation to surrogate agencies," he remarked. Taking exception to the provision of 10 years punishmentin the new bill, he said this showed that thegovernment has "gone back to the stone ages". Singhvi claimed that the UPA had a far wider canvas inthe 2010 Bill– the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Bill.He said in that bill, homosexuals were excluded. "Times havechanged and that also requires a rethink". Noting that the government should not talk aboutsurrogacy alone, he said Assisted Reproductive Technologiesinclude In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and sperm donation shouldalso be discussed. PTI SPG KUN ZMNKUN