Womb-for-Rent Business Booming in India

Shabnam had dreamed of owning a home for years, but with few prospects for her husband, she followed the lead of many poor women in her town in western India: she signed up to carry a baby for another couple.

At the clinic of Nayna Patel, perhaps India's best-known "surrogate doctor" who delivered Anand town's first surrogate baby, more women are signing up to be surrogates, with even nurses and teachers lining up, as their husbands lose their jobs.

"The women who come here usually want the money to buy a home, pay off loans, or for their childrens' college education," said...