Surrogacy babies predating ban to get exit permit

KATHMANDU, Oct 29: The government has decided to allow foreign couples to take abroad babies born or conceived through surrogacy before the Supreme Court (SC) imposed ban on the service on the condition that surrogate mother is not a Nepali citizen.

Acting on a writ petition, the SC had issued an interim order on August 25 to halt surrogacy services, leaving health centers offering the services, women hired as surrogate mothers, and foreign couple who had paid for the services in confusion.


While the latest decision settles the uncertainty over the fate of babies already born or conceived before the SC decision, the Ministry of Home Affairs has strictly warned against taking the babies abroad if they are born or conceived after the August 25 ban even if the surrogate mothers were to be foreign national.

Meanwhile, the ministry has sought details of surrogate mothers and babies born to them from respective authorities. A preliminary assessment of the ministry shows that there are about 300 babies that were already born or conceived through surrogacy by foreign as well as Nepali women before the SC ban on the services.

Earlier, the SC had also asked both the hospitals operating surrogacy services and the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) to furnish clarifications citing legal grounds for ruining surrogacy services.

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