Legal (Dis)Orders
A Feminist Assessment of India’s Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Laws
Abstract
This article critically examines India’s legislative framework on women’s reproductive labour, focusing on the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021. It explores how these laws, with their prohibitionist approach, demand altruism on the part of women and undermine their reproductive autonomy. Our analysis combines constitutional arguments on reproductive rights, privacy and bodily autonomy with empirical research to assess the law’s ramifications in a privatized labour market. The findings underscore the resilience of women involved in reproductive labour, who resist the unjust laws and assert their rights within a complex regulatory landscape. The research further reveals that the widening demand–supply gap as a result of the restrictive laws potentially fosters an underground economy where reproductive services are rendered with exploitative repercussions for the women, which demands urgent reworking of the law.
Keywords: assisted reproductive technology (ART); reproductive labour; surrogacy; egg donation; reproductive justice.
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