Thailand stops couples leaving with surrogate babies
16 Aug BBC
Thailand has imposed new restrictions on taking children born to
surrogate parents out of the country.The move follows the case of a Thai
surrogate mother who said an Australian couple rejected the baby she
carried when they found he had Down's syndrome.
The couple, who took home the boy's twin sister, have strongly denied
the claim.Thai police say couples with surrogate children now need a
court order before they can leave with the children.Thailand's military
government is rushing through a new law aimed at banning commercial
surrogacy.However, Australian surrogacy agencies believe there are more
than 100 couples still awaiting the birth of children to surrogate
mothers in Thailand.
A Thai immigration official told the BBC that one same-sex couple
with a baby was stopped from leaving Bangkok airport on Thursday because
they lacked documentation to prove they were the legal
guardians.Australian broadcaster ABC said three other couples were also
believed to have been stopped from leaving Thailand with surrogate
babies. David Farnell with wife Wendy and baby Pipah in Channel 9 video
grab The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says Thailand has become the
favoured destination for many Westerners seeking surrogate mothers.
But while commercial surrogacy is not technically illegal in
Thailand, it does violate the code of the Medical Council which
regulates doctors and hospitals, he adds.Earlier this week, Australian
couple David and Wendy Farnell denied that they had rejected baby Gammy,
now seven months old, when it became clear he had Down's Syndrome.They
said that Thai surrogate mother Pattharamon Chanbua, 21, had refused to
hand him over and also threatened to keep his twin sister.
It also emerged that David Farnell had been convicted in the 1990s of
multiple sex offences against young girls.Mr Farnell insisted that
Gammy's sister, Pipah, was not at risk of harm from him.Ms Chanbua, who
has two other children, said the couple had asked her to have an
abortion when she was told of the baby boy's condition.She said she
refused, as it was against her Buddhist beliefs.
David Farnell denied asking the mother to have an abortion and said
that by the time they found out about the baby's condition, it was too
late in the pregnancy to abort the foetus.
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