The birth of the child in transnational commercial surrogacy leads to a protracted process of staking claim. In this chapter, the focus is especially on the national and international laws that are invoked by foreign parents and foreign consulates to grant citizenship to the newborn. The applications for citizenship from their home countries, and the exit visa from India lead to many processes of bureaucratic verification and authentication of the genetic tie between the child and the intended parent(s) and the surrogate mother. Seeking identity here are both the new parents and the newborn. Through the birth certificate and the DNA test paternity is identified, while a parallel process seeks to ascertain maternity through the surrogate mother—who incidentally has rejected her tie to the newborn as part of the contractual requirements! Through the narratives of three foreign nationals navigating the citizenship process—international laws regarding surrogacy, kinship and citizens are analysed.
A Case Report of Severe Anemia in a North Indian Surrogate Mother