NEW DELHI — India’s government on Wednesday approved plans to ban the booming commercial surrogacy industry, a move that would block thousands of foreign couples who flock to centres to have a baby.Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said the cabinet cleared a bill to restrict surrogacy services to local married couples, following concerns about the exploitation of young, poor Indian women who bear babies for others."This is a comprehensive bill to completely ban commercial surrogacy," Swaraj said after the cabinet meeting."Childless couples, who are medically unfit to have children, can take help from a close relative, which is called altruistic surrogacy," she said.Swaraj said foreign couples, along with all single or gay prospective parents, would be barred from surrogacy services in India if parliament passed the bill.The government last year flagged the shutdown of the multimillion-dollar industry, sparking an outcry from fertility specialists at the country’s 2,000-odd centres.Rank...
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