In a significant legal ruling, the Bombay High Court decided that an egg donor cannot claim to be the biological parent of children born through surrogacy. The court’s decision came as a reversal of a lower court’s order, which had previously denied visitation rights to the biological mother of twin girls born via surrogacy.
Background of the Case
The case involved a woman who, after a marital separation, sought visitation rights to see her twin daughters, aged 5, born through a surrogate mother using her sister’s egg. The petitioner, who is the biological mother, argued that her estranged husband had moved into a new residence with her sister, the egg donor, without informing her.
The husband contested the claim, asserting that his sister, due to her emotional state following the loss of her spouse and daughter, had moved in to help care for the children. He further argued that the egg donor had a right to be considered a biological parent of the twins.
Court’s Decision
Justice Milind Jadhav, in a single-judge bench, rejected the husband’s claim, stating that while the egg donor contributed genetically, she did not hold parental rights. “As a donor, and a voluntary one, the younger sister may, at the most, qualify to be a genetic mother and nothing more,” Justice Jadhav clarified.
The court referenced the 2005 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, which governed surrogacy agreements at the time of the case. These guidelines explicitly state that egg donors do not have parental rights or duties concerning the child. Consequently, the court upheld that the surrogacy agreement named the petitioner and her estranged husband as the intending parents.
Visitation Rights
Addressing the lower court’s earlier decision to deny the petitioner interim visitation rights, the High Court found that it lacked proper consideration. As a result, the court directed the petitioner’s husband to allow her physical access to the twin daughters for three hours every Saturday and Sunday.
This ruling highlights the importance of adhering to established surrogacy regulations and acknowledges the legal boundaries regarding parental rights in surrogacy cases.
