Kerala Church aims to boycott India’s surrogacy bill

(June 28, 2010) The Syro-Malabar rite Catholic Church of India says it plans to try and boycott an upcoming bill to legalize surrogacy in India, which it says will destabilize a family system already struggling “under Western influence.” “The Church will take all possible steps to stop the bill and will alert elected state representatives about the impact it will have on family life,” Syro-Malabar Church spokesman Father Paul Thelakat told Ucanews last week. According to the Catholic Church’s teaching, sex, conception and reproduction can be practiced only in the framework of marriage between a man and a woman. The Indian government has finalized the draft for the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill 2010, which will legalize surrogacy and sperm banks. Under the proposed legislation, surrogacy or “renting” a womb would be banned and only non-profit surrogacy permitted for women aged 21 to 35. Critics say this leaves the door open for gay couples and single heterosexuals to become parents. Voicing the Church’s concern over the bill, the leader of Kerala’s Catholic Church Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil said, “To have a child, one cannot take recourse to any and every means and technology possible.” “We shall not play God and opt for fabrications of humans at our own designs,” he added. According to Father Stephen Alathara, spokesman of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, the bill will make a mockery of the institution of marriage. India is fast emerging as a leader in international surrogacy and a destination in surrogacy-related fertility tourism.