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A surrogacy clinic in India is advertising babies for sale to single men in Britain.
Newborns can be bought for as little as £15,000 at the private clinic in Mumbai. More than 10 single men have purchased babies from the Rotunda Clinic.
No checks on their background are made, including whether they have convictions or have been vetted by social workers.
One London couple who had a child thanks to the clinic have been approached by single men hoping to do the same.
Bobby Bains, who runs a website explaining how to obtain a surrogate baby in India, said one in six inquiries he gets comes from single men or gay couples.
"I make the introductions," said Mr Bains, from Ilford. "I don't like it myself but I still put them in touch with India. There's no stopping it. The Pandora's Box is open and there is no going back. This is the future."
Mr Bains, 45, and his wife Nikki, 44, paid the Rotunda Clinic tens of thousands of pound over several years in a desperate attempt to have a baby.
Finally last July, a surrogate mother, implanted with a donated egg fertilised by Mr Bains' sperm, gave birth to their daughter Daisy.
Rotunda's website advertises its surrogacy service with the pledge of a birth certificate issued in the name of the "intended parents" and the baby handed over immediately after the birth.
Its website states: "Rotunda offers gestational surrogacy in India to people of all nationalities.
All couples including lesbian and gay couples and even single men and single women can avail this facility to fulfil their dream of enjoying parenthood."
Dr Gautam Allahbadia, who runs the clinic, told the Standard he thought anyone who wanted a baby should be entitled to have one - despite growing concern that a near-absence of regulations has allowed the surrogacy industry there to boom unchecked.
He said: "I believe that every human being has to be treated equal and all have the same right to procreate.
"If you are within the ambit of your country's laws and believe strongly in your own principles, one should not bother about critics. Some human beings come into this world only to criticise."
Mr Allahbadia said "more than 10" single men had used the surrogacy service, compared to 50 Western couples - "some of them British" - who went through his clinic last year.
But the promise of surrogate babies to single men has alarmed campaigners and politicians in Britain.
Ann Widdecombe, the Tory MP and a long-time critic of surrogacy, said: "It is appalling to treat children as if they were goods. Children are a blessing, not designer goods. They deserve a start in life with mum and dad."
Norman Wells, of the pressure group Family and Youth Concern, said: "Nature itself tells us that children were intended to have both a father and a mother, and neither is an optional extra.
"We are embarking on a dangerous social experiment that runs contrary to common sense if we deliberately set out to bring a child into the world without the presence and involvement of both a father and mother who are committed for life to each other.
"If we are really committed to giving children the best possible start in life, the last thing we should be doing is to tamper with the natural order."
A leading obstetrician at a Mumbai hospital told the Standard last month that she delivered on average one baby to a British couple every 48 hours.
Dr Anita Soni said: "For these surrogate mothers the money is life-changing. There is absolutely no exploitation. It is really big money. It is a jackpot."
Reader views (5)
With so many separations and divorces today, the percentage of children having both parents is very low, and lots face a childhood of fights between the parents, not to mention those who have children from different fathers, and those who abandon the families for a career (men and women) and those who abandon their pregnant girlfriends for not wanting responsibilities. And what about under age pregnancies? For these men and women being single or not, to use surrogacy and paying through their teeth for it means they considered it thoroughly and even changed their lives to make that child's life the best possible. For them it's a dream came true, not handling of goods. Don't give me the poor excuse of nature and having mom and dad together in a society with completely collapsed family values and principles, high rates of divorce, rapes, violence between couples, poverty and abuse. If a single man, woman or couple can pay those amounts of money to have a baby is a guaranty that they can give the child a great life, because they REALLY want one, not because of a pregnancy by accident. I don't think anyone would go to such lengths emotionally and financially and then treat the child like baby p. I believe every human being deserves the best start, but that doesn't mean only couples can provide it. The world is full of single parents who can give a more happy and balanced life to a child then many dysfunctional couples.
- George, London, 13/12/2010 10:00
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Single men buying children? Why?
- Jentry, London UK, 05/08/2009 12:21
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It's easy to criticize but you cannot imagine that there a many couples wishing to have and love a baby out there.The nature became complicated due to the consumption of various chemical products be it medical or food or simply due to the pollution.Hence,many women and men are become infertile.It's not their fault.The good news is there is now technology and science which can help them becoming parents.IVF and surrogacy are one of these options.But YES some crazy people may misuse these oportunities as in every branch of life.It's a matter of common sense.So please avoid to criticize and generalize.Thank you.
- Just A Woman'S Point Of View, The world, 05/08/2009 11:21
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Why on earth are ANY of these babies let into this country, whether they've been sold to single men or couples?
- Kim, London, 05/08/2009 11:21
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Nothing surprises me anymore, we have just had the Ryan report in Dublin re the systematic child abuse as suffered by countless thousands at the hands of the Catholic Church & NCPCC (NSPCC) add to this the children from the Protestant Church, England, Scotland, Wales and the trafficking by Banardos of still more thousands of children to Australia, NZ, Canada & America and into a childhood of slavery and abuse, yet still well known celebrities and commercial enterprises see no wrong in putting their name and financial support to all those involved as does the State who still funds the said charities to the tune of 200 million per year. And yes folks, you good hearted as you are have no idea the real truth behind those you finance, support and sponsor and just how influential they remain as if in the best interest of children!!!
- Mike Ellis, Devon UK, 05/08/2009 11:21
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