Context: The Supreme Court granted an exception under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 to a woman suffering from Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH).
Major Highlights:
- The SC stayed the operation of Rule 7 of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, to allow a woman suffering from the MRKH Syndrome to undergo surrogacy using a donor egg.
- In India, there is no fundamental right to surrogacy and that the Act aims to regulate it.
- Rule 7 of the Surrogacy Act bans use of donor eggs for the procedure, i.e., out of three things, the sperm, egg and the womb, two must be of the intending couple.
Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome:
- MRKH is a rare congenital disorder that affects the female reproductive system. It is also known as Rokitansky syndrome.
- Its characteristic feature is an underdeveloped or absent uterus and vagina, but functioning ovaries and female chromosome pattern. Because of which it becomes difficult for a woman to get pregnant and bear children.
- MRKH is present at birth, but doctors may not discover it until the person reaches adolescence and does not have a menstrual cycle.
- Symptoms can vary significantly between people. There are two types of MRKH syndrome: Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 is the more common type and only affects the vagina and uterus.
Type 2 is less common. It affects areas outside the reproductive system, such as the kidneys, ears, skeleton, and heart or cardiovascular system.
Read also: Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technology & Surrogacy