Thailand’s surrogacy industry was put under media scrutiny when the case of baby Gammy, allegedly abandoned by his Australian parents because he suffered from Down’s syndrome and other physical aliments, was made public in August.
As the case unfolded, we were told that Pattaramon Chanbua, Gammy’s Thai surrogate mother, pointing fingers at Australians David and Wendy Farnell for having left her with the boy, who also suffers from a congenital heart condition and a lung infection, and taking his twin sister home.
Anger over Thailand’s surrogacy practices were furthered exacerbated when news of a Japanese man, found to have allegedly fathered up to 21 babies, hit the news. Businessman Mitsutoki Shigeta came under investigation after Thai authorities found nine babies, between the ages of two weeks to two years, living with seven nannies and a seven-month pregnant woman in a condo in Lat Phrao. Both cases prompted law makers to work towards establishing laws that would safeguard the interest of the baby and mother and take legal action against commercial surrogacy.
Thailand’s Medical Council has also prohibited Thai physicians from providing or assisting with commercial surrogacy services and banned surrogacy advertisements. Previous Medical Council regulations did ban the use of paid surrogates and required a surrogate to be either a blood relative or an in-law of the couple seeking help.