India is to ban gay couples from using surrogate mothers. As part of reforms to the country’s surrogacy and fertility treatment laws, only heterosexual couples will be allowed to have children by surrogate. Married and unmarried straight couples who live together will also be permitted to use surrogate mothers. However, women must be able to prove that they cannot have a baby naturally. India is one of the top destinations for gay and straight couples seeking a surrogate child as it is far more cost-effective than other countries. In the UK, single people cannot gain full legal rights over their children born by surrogate mother – a problem which affects gay single men in particular. This month, media attention focused on a Spanish gay couple who had twin girls born to a surrogate mother. The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights ordered the clinic involved to explain its procedures and suggested that the transaction had not been legal. The bill states that surrogate mothers must be aged between 21 and 35 and cannot give birth more than five times, even if this includes their own children. Would-be parents will be prosecuted if they refuse to accept a baby with birth defects and foreign couples or individuals will have to appoint a local guardian to care for the baby until handed over to them. Source: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/02/25/india-bans-gay-couples-from-surrogacy/