Thailand Law Journal 2013 Fall Issue 1 Volume 16

III. Findings
Interviewee Profiles

The basic profiles of the interviewees are presented in Table 1. The women's ages were 24–36 years. Monthly income of those employed was 10,000–30,000 baht (1 USD = 30 baht). Only two interviewees were legally married, whereas seven had a live-in partner (informally married). Four participants were divorced from their spouse, and two participants had never had a spouse or a live-in partner. 13 women had children of their own but, notably, two did not have any delivery experience.

The educational backgrounds of the women varied significantly. Four women had an elementary school education. Four other women had a junior high school or high school education. The remaining women had more than a high school education. Although the survey method did not allow us to draw any conclusions on this issue, the high rate of college and junior college
graduates merits attention in view of the fact that previous studies on surrogates in India have suggested that most women had a relatively impoverished educational background.

Of 15 interviewees, four (Natthakarn, Natthachai, Nattaporn, and Monthita's friend) had previous experience with surrogacy. Natthakarn also had previous experience with egg donation. All interviewees had been approached by intended parents either via email or through phone calls. Two interviewees (Natthachai and Satorn) were in the process of becoming surrogates, but they were not pregnant at the time of the interview.

Financial Needs

Most participants responded in economic terms when asked about the reason for posting an advertisement. They noted that surrogacy would give them an opportunity to receive a large sum of money to which they would otherwise not have access. The "going rate" for successful delivery was 200,000–400,000 baht.

The particular reasons for needing money varied from case to case. For example, Noppadon, a single freelance graphic designer, stated that she "wanted money to pay for tuition" and to become more highly qualified. Chanikarn needed money to pay off debt incurred by the bankruptcy of her clothing shop. After stating that her husband's monthly income of about 20,000
baht was sufficient to make ends meet, she explained: "But, now we have a credit card loan. […] So, if I get money from surrogacy, I will pay off that debt first."