Thai Police Free Women From Illegal Baby Farm In Bangkok

[jfchandler]

cant say that i am shocked-we are talking about thailand here!! a wonderfull country unfortantly poverty is rife expecially those coming from up country

lured into false promises,deceit,.

I'm not sure you're reading the news report very clearly... Poverty in Thailand doesn't have much to do with this...

The news report says all of the rescued women were Vietnamese, and another mention says the service stated they specifically were not using Thais as the surrogate mothers.

[spectrumisgreen]

They were...charged with illegally working in Thailand?

Does this mean it would have been legal if they were Thai!!??

similarly, do the words 'illegal and inhuman' sternly (a show of disdain?!) put before 'baby farm' infer that there is actually a 'legal and human' one, somewhere?

[Igor]

When you look at the website, a lot of the girls look Thai. Or maybe that is just me.

Not just you. IF you can trust the website, that is:

"Important Notice:

Babe101 Not Use Thailand surrogacy mother.

The protection of the law is absolutely. Hundred percent peace of mind you have no worries."

[Kwasaki]

Somebody surprise me with something new.

[MUYTHAI]

Similar situations occur in the USA as I write this...only the women are US citizens, so they have their own home and don't all have to be housed in a so-called 'baby factory'.

[animatic]

So there are LEGAL Baby Farms????

Well this is adoption law and desire gone mad.

So sad, especially for the women, but also for the children, and parents receiving them through this bogus operation, and possibly now losing them.

[Nisa]

Another very tragic story.

However, I don't get the claim they were marketing these babies to Taiwan where I believe they have plenty of unwanted children and I believe one of the highest abortion rates in the world. Seems odd that Americans adopt babies from Taiwan regularly but that a citizen would feel the need to buy one over the net from Thailand. I guess it must be an issue of wanting their own sperm used but regardless of laws I would think it would be easier to find a willing local surrogate and also allow more control all around let alone being able to check out the mother's health.

I wonder what is going to happen with all the undelivered babies.

Sad world we live in sometimes.

[TAWP]

So there are LEGAL Baby Farms????

Well this is adoption law and desire gone mad.

So sad, especially for the women, but also for the children, and parents receiving them through this bogus operation, and possibly now losing them.

It has nothing to do with adoption if their own website is to be believed - is it about having a breeder that is the housing of your child for 9 months so you can get a fully functional one served to you without the hassle -- or also in those cases when for example the woman is unable to properly conceive (read: multiple miscarriages).

[Nisa]

When you look at the website, a lot of the girls look Thai. Or maybe that is just me.

http://www.baby-1001.com/eng/model.htm

With the cat out of the bag now ... have to wonder why this website hasn't been blocked / shut down. Certainly not a lack of know-how on the part of Thailand.

I didn't go through the website but see it is in English. If they were marketing Taiwan then wonder why the web site was not in Taiwanese or Mandarin??

Not to mention all prices are in USD

Edited February 24, 2011 by Nisa

[LPCustom69]

Things don't exactly work this way that a foreign couple could just come and collect a baby. This group would have to be working with some government agency insider or most likely a hospital(which there are several with surrogacy programs) or worse one of these kinds of sites:

http://www.surrogacythailand.com/how-surrogacy-services-works.html

that advertises surrogate mothers as if they were brood sows.

One line on that website looks like a freudian slip about LOS, "Thai’s are renown the world over for the hospitality which leaves everyone who visits the country relaxed and distressed."

[HeavyDrinker]

Phil Robertson, of New York-based Human Rights Watch said there should be a "full investigation and prosecution to the full extent of the law".

"This is human trafficking in its most perverse and horrific form, sexual exploitation and rape, the mind boggles that something like this could happen," he said.

So he can boldly use emotive phrases like 'rape' 'human trafficking' and 'sexual exploitation' just on the early details even though there hasn't yet been any full investigation.

People like him really do more harm than good in getting to the truth behind the matter when they have to use such language before even the full story is known.

I bet it'll bring in a few more donations though...

[james24]

So all of the ringleaders were non Thai.... what a whopper.

[rammis35]

When you look at the website, a lot of the girls look Thai. Or maybe that is just me.

http://www.baby-1001.com/eng/model.htm

With the cat out of the bag now ... have to wonder why this website hasn't been blocked / shut down. Certainly not a lack of know-how on the part of Thailand.

I didn't go through the website but see it is in English. If they were marketing Taiwan then wonder why the web site was not in Taiwanese or Mandarin??

Not to mention all prices are in USD

The website I saw was not English. The website address you posted shows it's the English version. .com/eng/mode. Just type in baby-1001.com for the main page, and language.

[kdc1899]

seems like alot of money for a surrogate for a Taiwan ese to pay. Could have paid a Taiwan gal 1/10 th the price right there in Taiwan to be a surrogate.

[rammis35]

seems like alot of money for a surrogate for a Taiwan ese to pay. Could have paid a Taiwan gal 1/10 th the price right there in Taiwan to be a surrogate.

It is illegal to do this in Taiwan, and according to the website they were obeying the law making it legal for wannabe parents to do it in Thailand. That is why they would spend the extra money here and not go the "Cheap Charlie" way some here would seam to. Besides from what I read on the website they were not catering to the poor who could not have babies but to the rich who wanted a baby but didn't want to be bothered with the inconvenience of child birth but still wanted a kid that was 100% theirs.

[crazyswede]

They were...charged with illegally working in Thailand?

Does this mean it would have been legal if they were Thai!!??

Does this mean if me and wife make a baby in Los im working illegal too?

[kimamey]

Charged with illegally working in Thailand!!!

This is all Thailand's finest could manage against the Scandwegians allegedly up to no good in Pattaya the other day... Is this the best the boys in brown can do against these foreign criminals???

I'm not sure of the situation in this case or in Thailand in general but in the UK and a lot of other countries a minor charge such as this is used as it is easy to prove and then gives time for further investigation with the possibility of more serious charges later.

[thailandadam]

Again, so sad for these poor women, who probably have little or limited education, and at the same time, are being opportunistic. Promising a Thai woman $5,000 after the baby is delivered (for say 10 months _work_ is around 15,000 Baht/month. In their minds, that must be easy, pretty reasonable money to make...if they ever received it, though. In this economy, college graduates are lucky to make that in Thailand.

Plus, for the desperate client paying $32,000 for a baby, they feel like they're getting a deal. As many of us know, that kind of money in Thailand goes a loooong way.

It's the fundamental principle around money, either saving or earning a significant amount...if it's too easy, there's usually some catch. And as they say in the west, there's no free lunch...

That's my two cents, anyway...

[bangon04]

seems like alot of money for a surrogate for a Taiwan ese to pay. Could have paid a Taiwan gal 1/10 th the price right there in Taiwan to be a surrogate.

It is illegal to do this in Taiwan, and according to the website they were obeying the law making it legal for wannabe parents to do it in Thailand. That is why they would spend the extra money here and not go the "Cheap Charlie" way some here would seam to. Besides from what I read on the website they were not catering to the poor who could not have babies but to the rich who wanted a baby but didn't want to be bothered with the inconvenience of child birth but still wanted a kid that was 100% theirs.

But they point out that they do not use Thai women as surrogates. This couldn't possibly have anything to do with skin colour, could it? Must be a coincidence that they could not find any Thai women willing to earn money by churning out a few extra babies....

[webfact]

PREGNANCY SCAM

Police bust Taiwanese gang for 'ensnaring' 13 women

By Monthien Inthaket

The Nation

Surrogate mothers from Vietnam insist they went into it willingly; ministry believes it is trafficking

Police will soon be seeking an arrest warrant for the alleged leader of a Taiwanese gang that has been luring Vietnamese women to become surrogate mothers for children to be adopted by rich foreigners.

The scam was uncovered when immigration police raided a house in Bangkok on Wednesday and rescued 13 of these women.

Meanwhile, this issue will be tabled at a meeting of the Medical Council's subpanel next Friday, where the agenda is to see if any of the doctors involved knew about the scam.

Immigration Bureau Deputy Commissioner ML Pansak Kasemsant said yesterday that victims and suspects were being interviewed so the police can build a case for the gang leader's arrest. A team from the Public Health Ministry was also sent to help with the investigation, because the case involves hospitals or personnel providing invitro fertilisation (IVF). He said one of the 13 victims had recently given birth, but her baby was at Sin Phaed Hospital with respiratory problems.

Pansak said it was not believable when several of the women said they had willingly agreed to the pregnancies. The Social Development and Human Security Ministry, meanwhile, said that this case came under the frame of human trafficking and that the victims were probably too scared to tell the truth.

Chairman of the Medical Council, Dr Amnat Kusalanan, said the agency had yet to decide if the doctors in question were wrong and if they had conspired in forcing the women to become surrogate mothers, or if the procedure had been done properly and according to the council's standards. The council's subpanel will discuss the case next Friday before it forwards it to the council for consideration as to whether it should be handed over to the ethics committee. The council will also check to see if any of the couples had paid for the pregnancy, he added.

Amnat said that though the Cabinet has passed a draft legislation about protecting children born via assisted reproductive technology, the law was still waiting for House consideration and until it is put into effect, the issue of surrogate pregnancies will come under the Medical Council's jurisdiction. Regulations say that surrogate pregnancies are only allowed when a couple's eggs and sperm is used, when the woman carrying the baby is not paid for the pregnancy and is related to one of the parents.

Meanwhile, Dr Theerasak Thamrongtheerakul, chief of Vibhavadi Hospital's Fertility Centre, said that if doctors involved had benefited from this gang, then it meant they were violating ethics of the medical profession as well as breaking the law. However, if the doctors did not have any background information and were doing their duty, then they were not breaking any rules. He said normally a hospital can help with surrogate pregnancies, but it must record it and let all parties come to an agreement as to who will be identified as the baby's mother in the birth certificate.

-- The Nation 2011-02-25

[cookyboy]

cant say that i am shocked-we are talking about thailand here!! a wonderfull country unfortantly poverty is rife expecially those coming from up country

lured into false promises,deceit,. the people who expose these woman should be locked up and throw away the key they make me sick.

instead they will pay big money and escape punishment_whilst these vunerable woman will be back on the streets with their lives left in ruin.

i would like the thai authorities to be able to allow free medical care to the poor-but that will not happan under the currant regime...also free clinics should be avalible for contraception

pills,. many ladies get pregnant leave their children with family and look for their riches elsewhere--thailand need help rather than exploit these innocent victims!!!!

i think thailand needs a bit more than help, most of these situations come to light when people higher up are getting screwed out of some money, they should handle the corruption first, then that will take care of the rest by its self

[jackr]

Police said four Taiwanese, one Chinese and three Myanmar nationals were arrested in connection with the business and charged with illegally working in Thailand.

No Thais involved/arrested I see.

[Kilgore Trout]

And I'm sure this could go on in the way described if no Thais were involved in the higher levels, sounds like another easy case to blame on foreigners

[dighambara]

cant say that i am shocked-we are talking about thailand here!! a wonderfull country unfortantly poverty is rife expecially those coming from up country

lured into false promises,deceit,. the people who expose these woman should be locked up and throw away the key they make me sick.

instead they will pay big money and escape punishment_whilst these vunerable woman will be back on the streets with their lives left in ruin.

i would like the thai authorities to be able to allow free medical care to the poor-but that will not happan under the currant regime...also free clinics should be avalible for contraception

pills,. many ladies get pregnant leave their children with family and look for their riches elsewhere--thailand need help rather than exploit these innocent victims!!!!

Geezer,

Giving freebees to the poor in the US didn't work. That just attracted more folks to pretend to be poor so they could get the freebees.

The only real solution is to offer more employment at decent wages (different country by country) and allow people to fend for themselves.

Giving people a crutch to support laziness is not an answer...

[khaowong1]

another HUB to be proud of.

maybe it's time for another "crackdown"

[khaowong1]

I see they are paying for sperm donations. wonder how many of tv readers have tried this yet. probably some will now that they have a number to call.

[gregb]

Sorry. I think this whole raid by the police stinks. The way they are trying to politicize the lives of those poor children, calling it a baby factory and human trafficking is disgusting. The surrogates say they went into the contract willingly (in almost all cases, this is true) and the police say this isn't believable? Exactly how do the police know this? We aren't stupid. These are poor women almost certainly did volunteer for this service. I am disgusted and appalled not at the women who are trying to help give the gift of life to distraught families whose only desire is to have children, but at the police and other criminal government organizations who are trying to use the lives of these children for their own despicable crusade against humanity.

This is no different than the anti stem cell research groups in the US who politicize very valid research because of their own twisted views on abortion. The officials who conducted these raids and are trying to present this as human trafficking should be brought up on charges. More to the point, they should have their own children seized and they should be sterilized. Let's see how quick they are to judge when they are the ones who need to use the services of a surrogate.

It is a truly appalling thing the police have done. While there may in fact be a few people who are abusing the surrogacy service, I would bet that the vast majority of these children are probably destined for loving families who for very legitimate reasons can not have children. Simply showing one website does not say anything about why the surrogates were contracted. This was quite clearly a backend service. There is no guarantee there are not 10 other websites that are offering this gift to legitimately infertile couples. When children's lives are at stake, you have to be exceedingly careful.

No, I'm sorry. I don't accept the whole premise of this article. It is disgusting the way it has been presented. It is sick and wrong the way the police are trying to destroy these innocent victims. There are real lives at stake. Before they start making wild accusations and putting this in the press, they better do some serious investigations as to why these services are being used.

[Thai at Heart]

Sorry. I think this whole raid by the police stinks. The way they are trying to politicize the lives of those poor children, calling it a baby factory and human trafficking is disgusting. The surrogates say they went into the contract willingly (in almost all cases, this is true) and the police say this isn't believable? Exactly how do the police know this? We aren't stupid. These are poor women almost certainly did volunteer for this service. I am disgusted and appalled not at the women who are trying to help give the gift of life to distraught families whose only desire is to have children, but at the police and other criminal government organizations who are trying to use the lives of these children for their own despicable crusade against humanity.

This is no different than the anti stem cell research groups in the US who politicize very valid research because of their own twisted views on abortion. The officials who conducted these raids and are trying to present this as human trafficking should be brought up on charges. More to the point, they should have their own children seized and they should be sterilized. Let's see how quick they are to judge when they are the ones who need to use the services of a surrogate.

It is a truly appalling thing the police have done. While there may in fact be a few people who are abusing the surrogacy service, I would bet that the vast majority of these children are probably destined for loving families who for very legitimate reasons can not have children. Simply showing one website does not say anything about why the surrogates were contracted. This was quite clearly a backend service. There is no guarantee there are not 10 other websites that are offering this gift to legitimately infertile couples. When children's lives are at stake, you have to be exceedingly careful.

No, I'm sorry. I don't accept the whole premise of this article. It is disgusting the way it has been presented. It is sick and wrong the way the police are trying to destroy these innocent victims. There are real lives at stake. Before they start making wild accusations and putting this in the press, they better do some serious investigations as to why these services are being used.

If there was a complaint made to the Vietnamese Embassy, and this was passed onto the police, what would you like the police to have done?

On the surface, this looks like a surrogacy business. I don't know if that is even legal in Thailand. However, the fact that the women had been imported from a second country, to get around surrogacy rules in a 3rd, is enough for me to believe that it is flying very close to the edge of the law by any standards.

Maybe it isn't a "baby farm", but if there has been a complaint made to the embassy about wrong doing and the police have got involved, neither is it a surrogacy service.

[Tokay]

Amazing Thailand.

[barrybankruad]

When you look at the website, a lot of the girls look Thai. Or maybe that is just me.

http://www.baby-1001.com/eng/model.htm

With the cat out of the bag now ... have to wonder why this website hasn't been blocked / shut down. Certainly not a lack of know-how on the part of Thailand.

I didn't go through the website but see it is in English. If they were marketing Taiwan then wonder why the web site was not in Taiwanese or Mandarin??

Not to mention all prices are in USD

I remember about 15 years ago there was a scare here in Thailand about babies being snatched (kidnapped) and then being transported to Malaysia where they were 'adopted' by rich Chinese Malays. This appeared to stop when a group of Malaysian males was stopped at the border and it was discovered that there were drugged babies in the boot of the car. This was al;l done for money of course. Rich Chinese women who were childless or did not want to loose their figure were willing to pay a hefty price.