Japanese-Indian Surrogate Baby Legal Drama
India is fast becoming the surrogacy capital of the world, but laws governing the process are still in their infancy.
A casualty of the Indian legal system and a divorce, is a baby born to a surrogate mother in India who is potentially motherless and fatherless after the couple who paid for her split up.
A Japanese couple recruited an Indian woman as a surrogate mother. The baby girl, born in late July, was conceived with a donor egg, and sperm from the husband, Ikufumi Yamada. The couple split up and divorced while the surrogate mom was pregnant. Mrs Yamada doesn’t want to adopt the baby, and the surrogate mom doesn’t want the baby. The baby’s father wants to bring his daughter home to Japan but Indian law prohibits single men from adoption.
Japanese authorities have hinted that they may be able to approve a visa for the baby girl to come to Japan, and for her to be legally adopted in that country. But currently she’s living in a hospital in the Indian city of Jaipur, where her grandmother, Yamada’s mom, is caring for her.
It’s tragic that there’s such a simple solution that a legal system is preventing. Hopefully sensible heads will prevail, both countries can come to an agreement and the baby can be adopted by her biological father in Japan.
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MrsH says...
That’s so sad. They are the legal biological parents, why would they need to “adopt” her? If the Dad wants her, kudos to him. And what is wrong with that mother! Grrr…
Drew Miller says...
The baby has since gotten his ok and passport to leave and go to Japan. The Indian courts pushed through what is normally a lengthy process in India. My wife and I went to India for surrogacy and IVF and have put together a booklet for anyone else that is interested in traveling to India for IVF or Surrogacy. See our website if you are interested. http://www.ourindiaivf.com