Govt to investigate whether Nayanthara – Vignesh Shivan broke any surrogacy laws: TN Minister

Ethical and legal issues surrounding surrogacy have again become a hot topic of discussion on social media soon after celebrity parents Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan revealed on Sunday that they were now parents to twin newborn boys.

At a news conference on Monday, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian stated that the Directorate of Medical Services will be given instructions to determine whether any laws governing surrogacy had been broken by the celebrity couple. The minister was responding to a journalist who inquired about potential rule violations during the event.

Nayanthara and Vignesh tied the knot in June this year. However, the announcement of becoming parents just 4 months after their marriage has given rise to speculations that they may have resorted to surrogacy. The pair has not yet responded to the controversy.

On Sunday, Vignesh Shivan announced the birth of his boys and posted images on his Twitter account. He wrote, “Nayan & Me have become Amma & Appa. We are blessed with twin baby Boys. All Our prayers, our ancestors’ blessings combined wit all the good manifestations made, have come 2gethr in the form Of 2 blessed babies for us. Need all ur blessings for our Uyir & Ulagam.”

In December 2021, the Surrogacy Act and the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Act were passed by the Union government. These acts prohibited commercial surrogacy i.e. surrogacy done for money, including for sale, prostitution, or any other type of exploitation.

The laws allow for altruistic surrogacy for couples with a medical diagnosis of infertility or disease. The surrogate can only accept monetary assistance related to medical expenses.

There are other conditions including that the surrogate should be married at least once, should have her own child, should be a close relative, and should be between 25 and 35 years of age.