Tech aids changing idea of infertility

The understanding of infertility in India today is constantly being challenged by an emerging technology. It is important to note here that infertility as a social problem, in the kind of stigma it evokes for the childless couple and the woman in particular, has not changed but its relevance within public discourse certainly has.

Take for instance the recent case of actor Tusshar Kapoor becoming a single parent through commercial surrogacy. Amidst much media attention, the actor publicly acknowledged the birth of his child through a surrogate, in continuance with a trend that was started by Aamir Khan and later Shahrukh Khan.

But of interest is the public proclamation of being a single parent who burps and feeds the child without the social demands of being in a marital relationship. This is also important considering infertility technology has now entered a new phase of engagement wherein the idea of the family and parenthood are being reconsidered.

The possibility of being parents despite being single is also linked to the changing idea of infertility itself. Thanks to the constant media attention and emerging stories of IVF and commercial surrogacy, the use of infertility technology has now become very common.

Its acceptance has become so routinised that most couples seek the help of IVF doctors very early on in their marriages. However, that has not necessarily removed the stigma attached to their status as ‘childless’, which brings with it much social pressure and anxiety, not to mention exorbitant expenses to afford infertility treatment.

Yet, the emerging clientele of these treatments are not only married heterosexual couples fulfilling social demands and personal desires for progeny, but single parents and gay couples who publicly acknowledge their desire for parenthood.

That IVF and commercial surrogacy are facilitating the birth of children who were once considered to be beyond the purview of fertility, is truly revolutionary. This is not as simple as adoption, which alas, has suffered considerably due to infertility technology, but brings together the desire for genes, kin and social acceptability.

It is no surprise then that many national dailies carried the news of Tusshar Kapoor’s parenthood with the petition that four prominent citizens had written to the Supreme Court regarding the review of the decision made in relation to IPC 377. The articulation of human rights by the likes of Navtej Johar and Ritu Dalmia, became linked to the right to procreate. This is an interesting linkage considering the ban on foreign gay couples coming to India to have children through commercial surrogacy in 2013, and the upholding of IPC 377 in recriminalising same sex relationships.

Stereotypical family

At the root of this linkage is the anxiety that the use of IVF and surrogacy are fuelling. It is the possibility of children and families for the heterosexual childless, it is the possibility for those who do not adhere to the stereotypical family.

Within such a scenario, seeking legitimacy becomes even more problematic in order to maintain a norm. Gay parents have successfully defied the norm across the world by showcasing healthy parenting practices which rejects the criticism that positions gay couples as inadequate or unsuitable for parenthood. The two mothers or two fathers pattern has in no way impacted the upbringing or socialisation of children and young adults.

And this is not a phenomenon limited to the West alone, as more and more Indian men and women choose to seek their families from beyond the husband-wife norm. This includes divorced men and women bringing up their children, as well as Like Tusshar Kapoor, single men and women choosing to have children by themselves through IVF or adoption.

Laws in India and their related social reality are unable to make sense of the kind of changes that new modes of engagement and relationships are bringing. This may still affect a minority within the larger population, but has remarkable impact on the popular psyche.

However, it is important to remember that the choice to be a single parent or to opt for commercial surrogacy is publicly acknowledged only by celebrities, or those who can dismiss public approbation.

That is a sobering thought and one which brings the focus back on how important it is that in contracting surrogacy arrangements, every time questions regarding the commercial surrogate and her health and rights need to be addressed. In the madness of congratulating and focusing on the celebrity and his or her bold choice, we often forget to remember the surrogate and her role in a technologically invasive procedure.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities, Manipal University)