latest news article requesting embryos release (Mumbai Court Responds) ISAPL team has been closely following with government departments requesting release of embryos. Once release officially granted then team can assist with the courier.
Bombay high court has asked the central government to clear its stand on whether an American couple can take back their embryo – unborn child/baby – kept in a laboratory to their home country after the Union government banned commercial surrogacy in India last month.
The division bench of Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice M.S. Karnik was hearing a writ petition filed by the American couple which wants to take back its embryos to America. On Friday, while hearing the matter, the HC asked petitioner how could a foreign national file a writ petition because the Constitution had given this right only to citizens of India.
Petitioner’s counsel Ashutosh Kumbhakoni argued that Article 21 of Constitution gives right to life to everyone, even if the person is a foreign national. Kumbhakoni further argued that right to life says everyone has the right to take every efforts to have a baby and therefore, the petitioner has the right to file a writ petition.
According to the petition, doctors had advised the couple to go in for surrogacy. The American doctors then with the help of the couple’s sperms and eggs created the embryos and advised them to adopt a surrogate mother for the same.
The couple made eight embryos and dispatched it to India by a special courier. The couple had also taken a surrogacy visa and visited India and followed every procedure.
The petition further stated that when the surrogacy process was about to begin, the Union government had declared a ban on surrogacy.
The couple then made correspondence with the Indian authorities and requested them to allow them to take back their embryos to US. However, the Indian government had refused, saying that while banning surrogacy it had banned import and export of foetus too.
