New Delhi: They are the children of nowhere. Twins Nicolas and Leonard were born to a surrogate mother in India but their parents Susam and Jon Ballaz are from Germany. Now two-and-a-half-years old, Nicolas and Leonard are neither Indians nor Germans because surrogacy is not recognised as a means of parenthood in either of the countries.
Jan Balaz's advocate, Dhaval Dave says, "The Gujarat High Court has held in favour of Ballaz to the effect that since the child was born through surrogacy to an Indian mother, then it is entitled to be a citizen of India. The Central Government's contention was that you cannot equate a surrogate with the status of a mother."
Commercial surrogacy was made legal in India in 2002, but there's still no clarity on laws governing it. Leonard and Nicolas can't get Indian passports and since surrogacy is not legal in Germany, they cannot be German citizens either.
Infertility Expert, Nayna Patel says, "The couples who come to India to try surrogacy as a last resort forget that the happiness is short-lived because of legalities surrounding surrogacy in India."
The Indian Government did take a softer approach to this case after pressure from the Supreme Court and promised to persuade the German government to issue a one-time visa to the children so that they can travel to Germany. But the German government has refused.
For now these infants are waiting in Jaipur with their father but no one knows when they will be see their mother and when the family will be reunited.
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