The new surrogacy law in India fails to balance regulation and rights

India has a thriving surrogacy market with an estimated valuation of over 2 billion USD. However, the industry – which has been largely unregulated until now – is expected to witness an extensive overhaul with the proposed Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016. The watershed provisions of the new Bill seek to impose a blanket ban on commercial surrogacy primarily to check the exploitation of poor women, while permitting altruistic surrogacy in the country.