Tamil Nadu govt seeks explanation on Vignesh Shivan-Nayanthara surrogacy row

On Sunday, filmmaker Vignesh Shivan and actor Nayanthara took to social media to announce the arrival of their twin boys. The fact that the two got married only four months back raised a lot of eyebrows. While the couple has not officially announced it, it is widely speculated that the babies were conceived through surrogacy. A controversy of sorts has now been triggered about the legality of the process. Many have raised doubts if all the regulations enforced by the Indian surrogacy laws were followed by the couple.

Amidst all the talks in social media, the Tamil Nadu government has now sought an explanation from Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara regarding the same. During a press conference on Monday, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that they would seek an explanation, and also added that the director of medical services will be instructed to inquire whether the celebrity couple followed due process.

As per the latest surrogacy regulation bill, a woman who is a widow or a divorcee aged between 35-45, or a couple, defined as a legally married woman and man, can opt for surrogacy if they have a medical condition demanding this option. According to Indian laws, commercial surrogacy has been prohibited, and there will only be altruistic surrogacy. With this, the intending parents cannot cover any charges other than medical expenses and the insurance cover of the surrogate. The surrogate mother has to be genetically related to those seeking the kid. She should be a married woman with a child of her own, aged 25-35 and has been a surrogate only once in her life.

With these many rules in place, it is clear that the government and the common people alike have a lot of questions and a formal response from the couple is expected to be out to put an end to the never-ending barrage of rumours and speculations coming their way.