Thailand’s National Council for Peace and Order gave initial approval for a draft law that would outlaw commercial surrogacy in Thailand, reports the Bangkok Post.
The Protection of Children Born as a Result of Assisted Reproductive Technologies Bill has been sent to the National Legislative Assembly for final approval and must be endorsed by the king to be enacted as law. If passed, this bill would be Thailand’s first legislation specifically addressing surrogacy.
Two recent stories involving surrogacy propelled Thailand’s necessity for surrogacy legislation. The first was the story of baby Gammy, who was born with Down syndrome and then was allegedly abandoned to the care of his surrogate mother by an Australian couple. The second was the discovery of a surrogacy ring including nine babies, all thought to be fathered a man who police now suspect of fathering up to 21 children.
Last week four couples with Thai children were stopped and prevented from leaving airports in Thailand, on the grounds that they needed a court order confirming the birth mother has given up her child custody rights, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Current Thailand child custody laws deem a woman who carries a pregnancy as the child’s lawful mother, and doesn’t account for the sperm or egg of the commissioning parents.
According to the Bangkok Post, Rarinthip Sirorat, director of the Office of Promotion and Protection of Children, Youth, the Elderly and Vulnerable Groups, said,”This is against the genetic relationship and sometimes leads to a conflict about the rights to the child between the surrogate mother and the commissioning parents. The surrogacy bill would solve the problem.”
Read the full story here.
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