By Rashmi Kalia / Chandigarh
Surrogate
babies are in news, all thanks to the khans of the Bollywood. Not long ago,
surrogacy was a hush-hush affair for childless couples in India, who would
resort to staying low key for a number of months, while they planned a child
through surrogacy, only to announce to the world that they had been blessed
with a baby through natural means.
Quality equipment, low pricing and
hassle free legal agreements have made India the favorite haven for couples and
single parents from all around the globe who wish to seek the services of a
surrogate mother. However, even though surrogacy in India is a popular option
for many, it was not as fashionable to talk about it as it is now.
It was the birth of AbRam, the newest
addition to the household of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan that kicked in the
new trend. Even though Shah Rukh Khan has been fiercely protective of the details
involving the birth of his third child, he has not hesitated in declaring to
the world that his son is a surrogate baby.
However, some of the credit for
allowing surrogacy to hop on to the mainstream must also go to the trendsetting
couple of Indian cinema, Aamir Khan and his elusive wife Kiran Rao. In 2011, Aamir
Khan spoke openly about how the fertility issues faced by him and his wife
which led to their decision to have a baby using a gestational surrogate. His
wife had suffered a miscarriage before they decided to have a surrogate baby.
On the birth of his child, Aamir said,
‘This baby is especially dear to us because he was born to us after a long wait
and some difficulty. We were advised to have a baby through IVF surrogacy, and
we feel very grateful to the Almighty that all has gone well.’
There are other Indian celebrities who
have opted for surrogate babies in the recent past. It is not a well known fact
that Sohail Khan, Salman Khan’s younger brother, and his wife Seema also had
their second baby, through IVF surrogacy. Their second child, Yohan, was born
in June, 2011.
With
hordes of foreigners traveling to India to seek surrogate mothers, the debates
around surrogacy in India have been occupying a lot of print space for quite
some time. With the endorsements provided to the process by
celebrities like Aamir Khan and ShahRukh Khan, surrogacy is sure to gain the
acceptance and glamour that it earlier lacked.
A senior doctor at Fortis Hospital
spoke on the new found status of surrogacy in India by pointing that many
couples and families in India are now dealing with 'what will people say' quite
well.
With
celebrities such as Aamir Khan and ShahRuk proudly proclaiming the
‘surrogate’ status of their babies, birth infertility clinics around the
country have started to aggressively advertise their ‘surrogacy’ services to
provide hope to childless couples. The burgeoning fertility industry is using
its new found popular status to lure more customers from abroad as well the local
clients.
