Safeguards for the Protection of the Rights of Children Born from Surrogacy Arrangements Geeta Narayan* Abstract It is universally accepted that children should not face any adversity owing to the circumstances of their birth. The rights of children, as identified and accepted internationally as well, should not be violated just because they are born from surrogacy. Safeguarding the rights of these children has been of paramount significance among different countries of the world because surrogacy as an option for reproduction has gained demand due to various factors including rising rates of infertility, late marriages, and career aspirations. Uncertainties have crept in the erstwhile settled issues such as legal parentage when a child is born from surrogacy. This article deliberates upon the safeguards of the rights of children born from surrogacy in the backdrop of the basic conceptsand the extent of surrogacy practice in India and how India is fairing in the context of the international scenario. The focus has been kept on the said safeguards as ensured through the recent enactments of The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 20211 and The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)Act, 20212 and other extant laws. The areas of concern within the country and with respect to International Surrogacy Arrangements (ISAs)3 have also been touched upon along with some factual examples.The article, further, reveals how there has been an The author is a former civil servant, who worked in Department of Health Research in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India as the Joint Secretary concerned with the promulgation and implementation of The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.She represented India in the meetings of the expert group convened by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) to study issues in relation to the legal parentage of children in relation to International Surrogacy Arrangements (ISAs) specifically.She has also been ‘Member-Secretary’ in National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) prior to that. 1 Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021(Hereinafter— The Surrogacy Act) was enacted on 25 December 2021 after being passed by both Houses of Parliament (Act No. 47/2021) to constitute National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board, State boards and Appropriate Authorities for regulation of the practice and process of surrogacy and in the process, provide all rights to the children born through surrogacy, prevent exploitation of the surrogate mothers and provide ethical opportunity of parenthood to the needy intending couples/women. 2 The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021(Hereinafter— The ART Act) was enacted on 18 December 2021 after being passed by both Houses of Parliament (Act No. 42/2021) for the regulation and supervision of ART clinics and ART banks, prevention of misuse, safe and ethical practice of ART services for addressing the issues of reproductive health where ART is required for becoming a parent or for freezing gametes, embryos, etc. for further use due to infertility, disease or social or medical concerns and for regulation and supervision of R & D and other connected matters. 3 ISAs are the cross-border surrogacy arrangements. * Journal of the National Human Rights Commission, Vol. 22, 2023 65