 "Did Sidhu Moose Wala’s parents violate IVF rules when having a baby?")
On Sunday (17 March), the parents of late Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala, welcomed a baby boy, nearly two years after the artiste was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district.
However, that happy moment has soured with Moose Wala’s father, Balkaur Singh, accusing the Punjab government of harassing them over the birth of their second son.
Why are the parents of Moose Wala being ‘harassed’? What do the laws on IVF state? We take a deep dive and get you the answers.
Moose Wala’s parents welcome baby through IVF
Two years after Balkaur Singh and Charan Kaur lost their son, noted Punjabi singer-turned politician Sidhu Moose Wala , they welcomed a baby boy last Sunday. They even shared an image of the newborn on social media, captioning it: “With the blessings of millions of souls who love Shubdeep, the Almighty has put Shubh’s younger brother in our midst. With the blessings of Waheguru, the family is healthy and thankful to all the well-wishers for their immense love.”
ਸ਼ੁਭਦੀਪ ਨੂੰ ਚਾਹੁਣ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਲੱਖਾਂ ਕਰੋੜਾਂ ਰੂਹਾਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਅਸੀਸਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਅਕਾਲ ਪੁਰਖ ਨੇ ਸਾਡੀ ਝੋਲੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ੁਭ ਦਾ ਛੋਟਾ ਵੀਰ ਪਾਇਆ ਹੈ।
— Sardar Balkaur Singh Sidhu (@iBalkaurSidhu) March 17, 2024
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਦੀਆਂ ਬਖਸ਼ਿਸ਼ਾਂ ਸਦਕਾ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਤੰਦਰੁਸਤ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਸ਼ੁਭ-ਚਿੰਤਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਅਥਾਹ ਪਿਆਰ ਲਈ ਸ਼ੁਕਰਗੁਜ਼ਾਰ ਹਾਂ।
🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/SOYT36Qg1I
It was later reported that Balkaur and Charan — aged 58 and 60 respectively — had adopted In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) technique to get pregnant and have their second child; Sidhu was an only child.
Alleging harassment
However, days after the birth of their second child, Balkaur Singh alleged that the Punjab government was “harassing him asking him to prove that his child was legitimate.”
Taking to social media, Singh said that he was being harassed and asked to produce documents to prove that the baby is legally born. In his message online, he urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to give him time to get done with the treatment after which he would provide all documents about his newborn.
He said, “Because of your blessings, the almighty blessed us by sending Shubhdeep back to us. But I am sad since morning. The district administration is harassing me since morning that I should supply the documents of this child. I am being asked all kinds of questions to prove that this child is legit.”
He requested “CM saab” (Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann), “let the treatment be completed. I hail from this place and will come wherever you call me”.
ਅਜਿਹਾ ਕਿਹੜਾ ਡਰ ਜਾਂ ਕਿਹੜੀ ਮਜਬੂਰੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਇੱਕ ਨਵ-ਜਨਮੇਂ ਬੱਚੇ ਦੀ ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਘਨ ਪਾ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ? pic.twitter.com/b2y1kFYchn
— Sardar Balkaur Singh Sidhu (@iBalkaurSidhu) March 19, 2024
“As I am pained, I want to tell you in strong words that you have a habit of taking U-turns. Your advisors give you such advice… I am not among those who take U-turns,” Singh said and asserted that he did not violate any law.
“As far as law of land is concerned I want to tell you that my son lived for 28 years by respecting the law. I, being an ex-serviceman, also respect the law. I have not violated the law at any point. If I have done it then you put me in jail. Your advisors give you such advice that it becomes difficult to go back on that decision. If you do not have trust in me then put me behind bars by registering an FIR. Then do your investigation. At the same time I want to tell you that I will give you the legal documents and get out of this clean.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, who is ruling the state of Punjab, reacting to the news said that it was the BJP-ruled Centre that had sought a report on Charan Kaur’s pregnancy and the IVF treatment she had gone undergone to get pregnant.
ਦਰਅਸਲ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਤੋਂ ਸਿੱਧੂ ਮੂਸੇਵਾਲਾ ਦੇ ਮਾਤਾ ਜੀ ਸਰਦਾਰਨੀ ਚਰਨ ਕੌਰ ਦੇ ਆਈ.ਵੀ.ਐਫ਼. ਇਲਾਜ ਦੀ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ, ਕੇਂਦਰ ਦੀ @BJP4India ਸਰਕਾਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ ਹੈ
— AAP Punjab (@AAPPunjab) March 20, 2024
ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ @BhagwantMann ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਭਾਵਨਾਵਾਂ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਜਜ਼ਬਾਤਾਂ ਦਾ ਦਿਲੋਂ ਸਨਮਾਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਪਰ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਕਾਗ਼ਜ਼ਾਤਾਂ ਦੀ ਮੰਗ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਸਰਕਾਰ… pic.twitter.com/D0RQ1dSVfh
A PTI news report later quoting sources said that the Union Health Ministry had written to the Punjab government on 14 March and sought a report regarding the IVF treatment of Charan Kaur while citing a media report. In fact, the letter pointed out that under Section 21 (g) (i) of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, the age limit prescribed for a woman going under ART services is between 21-50 years.
IVF rules in India
IVF in India is regulated under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 which was passed by Parliament in 2021. The need for such a legislation was felt as the country saw a rapid growth of Assisted Reproductive Technology clinics. These facilities provide gamete donation, intrauterine insemination, in-vitro- fertilisation, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and pre-implantation genetic diagnostic.
With the rapid rise of such clinics, the government felt that supervision and regulation was required and thus, the ART Act, 2021 was born. The law mandates a central database on all clinics and banks in the country, including nature and types of services provided, and the outcome of these services.
Moreover, the ART legislation mandates that clinics ensure that the commissioning couple (the couple that is seeking treatment) are eligible for ART procedures, and that the donor is medically tested.
The ART Act, 2021 also mandates who is eligible and isn’t for treatments such as IVF. According to the law, these services such as IVF may be commissioned by married couples or women where: (i) the woman is between 21 and 50 years of age, and (ii) the man is between 21 and 55 years. Married couples must also be infertile — unable to conceive after one year of unprotected coitus or suffer from any other proven medical condition which prevents conception.
However, the legislation also states that women above 50 years of age may opt for IVF in India as long as they fulfil the stipulated medical and mental health criteria.
The law also has set eligibility criteria for donors. For men, donors have to be aged between 21 and 55 years and for women, it is set at 23 and 35 years. Under the Act, female donors need to be married with at least one child of their own, aged at least three. A woman can donate up to seven eggs only once in her life. A bank cannot supply the semen of one donor to more than one couple.
The law has also stipulated written informed consent of both the couple and the donor has to be taken. The couple seeking an ART procedure must provide insurance coverage for the female donor in case of loss, damage or death of the donor.
Furthermore, a child born via an ART procedure such as IVF will be deemed as the couple’s biological child in the eyes of the law and donors do not retain any parental rights over the child.
IVF in India
IVF has been around for years and years and offers a solution when a woman has trouble getting pregnant. As per an AP report, the procedure involves retrieving her eggs and combining them in a lab dish with a man’s sperm to create a fertilised embryo, which is then transferred into the woman’s uterus in an attempt to create a pregnancy. IVF is done in cycles and may take more than one to create a successful pregnancy, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The procedure can use a couple’s eggs and sperm or those from a donor.
After India saw its first IVF baby — Harsha — in 1986, this method of getting pregnant has grown leaps and bounds. In June 2023, a CNBC-TV18 report stated that the country conducted an average of 2-2.5 lakh IVF cycles per year. However, projections indicate that this figure could reach five-six lakh cycles annually. This would result in a market value surpassing $3.72 billion (Rs 30.9 lakh crore) by 2030, compared to $793 million
(Rs 6,595 crore) in 2020.
Experts cite that India’s low cost of IVF is one of the main reasons for its growth. For instance, in the United States, a single IVF cycle can cost between $12,000 (Rs 9.98 lakh) and $14,000 (Rs 11 lakh), while the expenses can escalate up to $30,000 (Rs 25 lakh) with additional services. The United Kingdom and Singapore charge over $6,000 (Rs 5 lakh) and $7,000 (Rs 6 lakh), respectively, for a cycle. However, in India, the cycle costs $1,200 (Rs 99,000) to $2,500 (Rs 2.07 lakh).
With inputs from agencies
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