The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the government and is seeking a response to a petition challenging certain provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. The petition specifically contests the ban on single and divorced men from accessing surrogacy services. A 45-year-old divorced dental surgeon from Karnataka has filed the plea, challenging the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which currently prohibits single men, including divorced men, from accessing surrogacy services in India.
The petitioner argues that the law’s exclusion of single men from surrogacy is arbitrary and discriminatory, violating fundamental rights by limiting parenthood based on gender and marital status. He contends that parenthood is a fundamental right that should not be restricted and that the Act’s provisions infringe upon Articles 14 (equality), 19 (freedom), and 21 (life and liberty) of the Indian Constitution.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan has issued the notice to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and is awaiting the government's reply. The next hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
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