Thailand cracks whip on paid surrogacy

BANGKOK – Hundreds of foreign couples could be prevented from leaving Thailand with their surrogate babies and at least five couples – three Australian and two American – have already been stopped at Bangkok’s international airport.

The move came as Thai authorities launched a crackdown on paid surrogacy and declared they would stop suspected parents at the airport and require a birth certificate and surrogacy contract for their children.

Three same-sex couples have reportedly been stopped at Bangkok’s international airport. One of the couples attempted to leave the country with the surrogate mother but they were all banned from boarding flights.

“They shouldn’t be holding these kids to ransom,” an Australian surrogacy lawyer, Stephen Page, said.

“These distraught parents entered into arrangements in Thailand in good faith. They thought they were coming to Thailand for four weeks at a time and they now face six months . . .”

Australia’s department of foreign affairs has sought a “trans- ition period” for couples with surrogate babies but it is not clear if Thai authorities will agree. Rarinthip Sirorat, the director-general of Thailand’s office for the protection of children, said Australians should be barred from taking their children home.

Thailand’s military authorities have approved a draft law making paid surrogacy a criminal offence amid an international outcry over the case of Gammy, a boy born with Down’s Syndrome who was abandoned by his Australian parents. – The Telegraph