New Delhi, March 5 : The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report which highlighted an alleged illegal racket involving the extraction and sale of eggs from financially vulnerable women in Maharashtra’s Badlapur area.
Describing the report as “disturbing”, the Commission said the revelations point to an organised network that exploited women through repeated commercial egg donations, in clear violation of the provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. According to the report cited by the Commission, the racket allegedly targeted economically vulnerable women and persuaded or coerced them into undergoing multiple egg extraction procedures for monetary gain. Under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, egg donation is permitted only once in a lifetime, and any form of financial incentive or commercialisation is strictly prohibited. Preliminary police investigations indicate that at least 40 women may have been affected by the racket. In one particularly case, a victim was reportedly subjected to egg extraction procedures as many as 33 times, raising serious concerns about health risks and medical malpractice.