Biography
Sheela Suryanarayanan has worked on gender issues since 1998 and specialises in Assisted Reproductive Technologies; surrogacy, sex-selective abortions, and prenatal screening. She has written two books titled; A Transnational Feminist View of Surrogacy Biomarkets in India, published by Springer Nature, Singapore, and Women's Empowerment and Son Preference in India: Feminist and Ethical discourse on Sex Selective Abortions. Presently, she also works on the Indian Knowledge System on ‘Motherhood’ and ‘Women Empowerment’.
Sudarshan Saravanan is a PhD Scholar specialising in sustainable city environments, nature-based water solutions, and climate resilience.
Abstract
India became a global hub for commercial surrogacy because surrogate mothers had fewer rights over their own bodies and the child born, and had no agency in medical interventions during surrogacy, until the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 prohibited transnational and commercial surrogacy in India. Studies have found detrimental physical and emotional health impacts of surrogacy on surrogate mothers in several developing countries. Economic coercion limits the agency and bargaining capacity of surrogate mothers, leading to unjust surrogacy contracts. Mandatory retention at surrogate homes, separation from family, surveillance, social stigma, secrecy, and a disconnect from the intended parents and surrogacy children are known to cause distress to surrogate mothers. This study examined surrogate mothers' agency within surrogacy and the post-surrogacy monetary, health, and psychological impacts among 45 surrogate mothers in Anand, India, in 2019-20, using interview schedules; the variables were analysed using Spearman correlation. The surrogate mothers had lower educational attainment, unskilled occupations, and low income, with a dire need for money. The post-surrogacy outcome revealed unfulfilled purpose and worsened financial impact among very poor households, and severe emotional and physical health impact on surrogate mothers. A correlation was found between the physical and emotional impact of surrogacy, monetary outcome, and fulfilled needs with the source country of intended parents and remuneration. Most very poor surrogate mothers slipped further into poverty, and repeated surrogacy could bring them out of poverty. The surrogate mothers were denied agency during the surrogacy process and were in a state of denial of agency.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Suryanarayanan, Sheela Dr. and Saravanan, Sudarshan Mr. (2026) "Inequities in Agency and Post-Surrogacy Impact on Surrogate Mothers in India," Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence: Vol. 11: Iss. 3, Article 8. https://doi.org/10.23860/dignity.2026.11.03.08