GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON ALTRUISTIC SURROGACY: ANALYSING THE PROHIBITION IN SELECTED COUNTRIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGALIZATION

The study employs a comparative legal analysis, examining surrogacy laws across various jurisdictions, including India, Iceland, Australia, and certain European countries. It also integrates policy analysis and ethical evaluation to assess the impact of bans on altruistic surrogacy. The research likely utilizes qualitative methods, drawing on legal texts, ethical arguments, and case studies to explore the motivations behind these prohibitions. The laws regarding surrogacy vary considerably worldwide, with areas such as India allowing for altruistic surrogacy but banning commercial surrogacy, and countries like Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Norway, and France forbidding both types. This article investigates the ban on altruistic surrogacy in certain jurisdictions, as well as the reasons behind its prohibition, advocating for pushback against such laws in favour of altruistic surrogacy as a necessary ethical alternative to unregulated commercial practices. Despite the significant negative public health consequences^[1] Of such policies, altruistic surrogacy is subject to blanket bans, even though evidence suggests that prohibitive policies.^[2] Not only fail to reduce the demand for altruistic surrogacy, but they also exacerbate the issues they seek to address by fuelling cross-border reproductive tourism and ethical risks. The article argues that banning altruistic surrogacy does not eliminate demand but instead drives intended parents toward unregulated international surrogacy, leading to ethical and public health risks. It challenges such prohibitions, advocating for altruistic surrogacy as a regulated and ethical alternative to commercial surrogacy. The study highlights how fears of commodification, exploitation, and moral concerns shape restrictive policies while failing to address the realities of surrogacy demand.