Australian couple abandon Down syndrome baby with Thai surrogate mother

[samran]

The Australian couple shall now hide behind anonymity laws designed to protect the identity of children in cases of high news interest.
 
 
They need to be named, and to be bought before a court in order to be forced to accept the full consequences of the choices they made. 

Agreed, what a couple of scumbags

This is one time I won't mind the feral 'current affairs shows' going to town on these parents.

[Lite Beer]

Fears of Australia surrogacy ban over abandoned Down Syndrome baby

SYDNEY, August 2, 2014 (AFP) - Reports that an Australian couple abandoned a baby with his surrogate mother in Thailand because he has Down Syndrome have raised fears Australia will ban international surrogacy, a support group said Saturday.

 

The boy was born to Thai woman Pattaramon Chanbua in December and while an Australian couple took his healthy twin sister, they left him behind, according to media reports.

 

"They (the surrogacy agency) told me to carry a baby for a family that does not have children... They said it would be a baby in a tube," Pattaramon told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

The 21-year-old from Chonburi province southeast of Bangkok said she agreed to carry the child for a fee of Aus$16,000 (US$14,900) -- enough to educate her own two children and pay back debts.

 

But she was now left with the baby boy, who also suffers from a life-threatening heart condition, and cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment he needs.
"I don't know what to do. I chose to have him... I love him, he was in my tummy for nine months," she told the ABC.

 

The reports about the boy's abandonment have triggered donations to a fundraising page created last week, while Australian

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was an "incredibly sad" situation.

"I guess it illustrates some of the pitfalls involved in this particular business," he told reporters.

 

By Saturday, well-wishers had raised more than US$140,000 in donations for the baby via the "Hope For Gammy" website, which was also flooded with comments.

 

"From my children to yours. They are the future and come all differently but always a gift from above," wrote one donor.

 

Commercial surrogacy, in which a woman is paid to carry a child, is not permitted in Australia but couples are able to use an altruistic surrogate who receives no payment beyond medical and other reasonable expenses.

 

However, Surrogacy Australia said more couples choose to go overseas than find an altruistic surrogate at home, with 400 or 500 each year venturing to India, Thailand, the United States and other places to do so.

 

"It's just much easier overseas," chief executive Rachel Kunde told AFP.
"There's so much red tape involved (in Australia)."

 

Kunde said the details of the latest case were not clear, and it was not known whether the Australian couple involved were even aware he had been born or had been told that he had been aborted.

 

She said Australia, which has no national legislation on surrogacy meaning some states already banned commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas, needed better regulation.

 

"Our greatest fear is that Australia is going to ban international surrogacy altogether," she said.
"We are hoping that the government will make accessing surrogates in Australia easier."

 

[afp]2014-08-02[/afp]

[WitawatWatawit]

Good news. Just heard the baby has undergone surgery for the lung problem and is recovering. Online appeal for funds has hit 4 million baht. 

[Basil B]

BBC update has interview with mother.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28621639

 

Also ABC news:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-02/outrage-as-australian-parents-desert-surrogate-mother/5643074

Edited August 2, 2014 by Basil B

[Mosha]

Is it actually possible to have twins where 1 is normal and 1 is downs?

 

Aren't these boy and girl? Natural birth identical twins come from 1 egg. If they don't separate you get conjoined or Siamese twins. Mixed sex twins the mother releases 2 eggs I believe.

[champers]

Must say I have seen a report that the Australian couple may not have even known there was another baby other than the one they were given/sold - by an "agent". Well, they know now.

[Basil B]

Must say I have seen a report that the Australian couple may not have even known there was another baby other than the one they were given/sold - by an "agent". Well, they know now.

 

And pigs can fly...

 

I am sure they would have been told there were twins long before they detected the abnormality in one.

[cpofc]

 

"The child will never know his twin sister, who was born healthy with him in a Bangkok hospital and has been taken away by their parents'

 

That's the saddest part for me. Having a sibling and not seeing one another. Truly sad.
 

i wonder if the parents of the girl will ever tell her she has a brother in Thailand whom they rejected since he didn't meet their specs ?

 

 

Makes me wonder where we are headed, with all that is going on in this world today.  I guess this appalling situation is always going to occur when we reduce Human Beings to mere commodities, items to be bought and sold.  In which case the couple in question appear to have, under Australian Consumer Law,  merely returned a defective item. (and before those of you who have destroyed your frontal lobes by way of prolonged, excessive alcohol abuse tear into me - I am being sarcastic)

 

Maybe in the future we won't have to resort to surrogacy, we'll be able to grow perfect children in laboratories.

 

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic[/media]

 

There is a silver lining though.  Indeed, the poor little fellar is off to a pretty rough start, but outraged and sympathetic Australians have rallied and already have a Trust Fund set up for Gammy, around 3 Million Baht so far, and counting.

[Lite Beer]

SURROGATION
Surrogate left with unwell baby
The Nation

 

SYDNEY: -- Australian couple took twin sister but left Chon Buri mother with Down's Syndrome boy

Reports that an Australian couple abandoned a baby with his surrogate mother in Thailand because he has Down's Syndrome have raised fears that both countries will move to restrict international surrogacy.

The boy was born to Thai woman Pattaramon Chanbua in December and while an Australian couple took his healthy twin sister, they left him behind, according to media reports.

"They [the surrogacy agency] told me to carry a baby for a family that does not have children... They said it would be a baby in a tube," Pattaramon told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The 21-year-old from Chon Buri province said she agreed to carry the child for a fee of Bt400,000 - enough to educate her own two children and pay back debts.

But she is now left with the baby boy, who also suffers from a life-threatening heart condition, and cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment he needs.

"I don't know what to do. I chose to have him... I love him, he was in my tummy for nine months," she told the ABC.

Reports about the boy being "abandoned" have triggered a media frenzy in Australia and a wave of donations to a fundraising page created last week, while Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was an "incredibly sad" situation.

"I guess it illustrates some of the pitfalls involved in this particular business," he told reporters.

By yesterday, well-wishers had raised more than US$140,000 (Bt4.5 million) in donations for the baby via the "Hope For Gammy" website, which was also flooded with comments.

"From my children to yours. They are the future and come all differently but always a gift from above," wrote one donor.

Under Medical Council of Thailand regulations, surrogacy should only be undertaken by parents who have had at least one child or couples with the same bloodline.

Commercial surrogacy, in which a woman is paid to carry a child, is not permitted in Australia but couples are able to use an altruistic surrogate who receives no payment beyond medical and other reasonable expenses.

However, Surrogacy Australia said more couples choose to go overseas than find an altruistic surrogate at home, with 400 or 500 each year venturing to India, Thailand, the United States and other places to do so. "It's just much easier overseas," chief executive Rachel Kunde said. "There's so much red tape involved [in Australia]."

Kunde said the details of the latest case were not clear, and it was not known if the Australian couple involved were even aware the boy was born or told that he had been aborted.

Some Australian states have banned commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas, but Kunde said Australia, which has no national legislation on surrogacy, needed better regulation.

"Our greatest fear is that Australia is going to ban international surrogacy altogether," she said.

"We are hoping that the government will make accessing surrogates in Australia easier."

It is not known if Thai authorities are investigating this case yet, or whether Pattaramon may have also broken Thai law.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Surrogate-left-with-unwell-baby-30240112.html

 

[thenation]2014-08-03[/thenation]

[MJP]

Near headline news in the UK. The charity fund set up for the kid is getting big airtime so hopefully that should swell the coffers.

 

I think this one has a happy ending.

[NongKhaiKid]

$70K AUD raised yesterday alone, the tally now sits at around 110K and rising.  Lets hope all the money goes to the child and not every corrupt lowlife takes their share of the pie.

This is a major point Chooka.

 

A lot of money is being raised so does anyone know how it's being administered ?

TIT where money weaves its own spell and has a habit of being diverted.

[chooka]

  Mum at centre of Down's baby surrogacy row: 'I'll keep him if parents don't want him' Thai surrogate mother rejects offers to adopt her critically-ill son after Australian couple refuses him.

A Thai surrogate mother has declared she will "not give my baby to anybody" and rejected dozens of offers to adopt her six-month-old son after an Australian couple refused to take the boy when they learned he had Down's syndrome.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11007770/Mum-at-centre-of-Downs-baby-surrogacy-row-Ill-keep-him-if-parents-dont-want-him.html

[StefanBBK]

Too sad of a story to read the entire thread.
When my wife was pregnant with our son, we made to DS test and it came out non-connclusive. The Doctor suggested a different test that could get a sure result. We did some soul searching and decided against it. Simply because of the result would not have changed anything. We were going to have the baby anyway.
Everyone has to make that decision on their own. I am neither pro or con abortion.
Second thought on the subject is that no family should experience financial hardship because of having a sick child. The child should receive all medical care necessary without parents getting a bill. This is something that the government should provide.
If that would be the case, the whole discussion would be different.
Final comment on surrogacy; I do understand couples who want children and can't have any, seeking help. If all parties agree I see little wrong with surrogacy. The wrong is if advantage is taken on financial / economical basis.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app Edited August 3, 2014 by StefanBBK

[WitawatWatawit]

^^^ Stefan, well said.

Great to see the Aussies getting behind this and helping this baby. Aussies, apart from this couple, are a people who generally go the extra mile to do the right thing, and they're proving that today. I'm going out to hug the first Aussie I see. :)

[chooka]

The ill baby boy abandoned by his Australian parents in Thailand has little chance of survival despite an outpouring of donations, according to his surrogate mother. …continue reading
Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/#VbiaH606uxuTvpgt.99

[Basil B]

surrogacy should be banned world wide until there are no more children left in orphanages...

 

​It is just a selfish response from narrow minded people who could just as easily adopt.

[saroq]

Too sad of a story to read the entire thread.
When my wife was pregnant with our son, we made to DS test and it came out non-connclusive. The Doctor suggested a different test that could get a sure result. We did some soul searching and decided against it. Simply because of the result would not have changed anything. We were going to have the baby anyway.
Everyone has to make that decision on their own. I am neither pro or con abortion.
Second thought on the subject is that no family should experience financial hardship because of having a sick child. The child should receive all medical care necessary without parents getting a bill. This is something that the government should provide.
If that would be the case, the whole discussion would be different.
Final comment on surrogacy; I do understand couples who want children and can't have any, seeking help. If all parties agree I see little wrong with surrogacy. The wrong is if advantage is taken on financial / economical basis.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Personally I would opt for abortion.  I wouldn't want the emotional or financial hardship and can't see why the taxpayer should pick up the bill for it when a test is available.  I know others will have a different opinion.

[jpduggan]

  Mum at centre of Down's baby surrogacy row: 'I'll keep him if parents don't want him' Thai surrogate mother rejects offers to adopt her critically-ill son after Australian couple refuses him.

A Thai surrogate mother has declared she will "not give my baby to anybody" and rejected dozens of offers to adopt her six-month-old son after an Australian couple refused to take the boy when they learned he had Down's syndrome.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11007770/Mum-at-centre-of-Downs-baby-surrogacy-row-Ill-keep-him-if-parents-dont-want-him.html

 

   All of a sudden she has realized that she has a cash cow and doesn't want to part with him.   Thainess!!

[starky]

 

The Australian couple shall now hide behind anonymity laws designed to protect the identity of children in cases of high news interest.

 

 

They need to be named, and to be bought before a court in order to be forced to accept the full consequences of the choices they made. 

Why do they need to be named?

 It appears each side got what they wanted. Australian Parents got a new child, the surrogate got her money, and seems happy with the child left behind. What is the issue?

 

Mate your one straight out of the box. How callous can you be?  What's with the everyone is happy BS they chose a surrogate mother, common sense would say for better or worse they are responsible for all children born by the surrogate. Then again common sense isn't all that common 

[Robroona]

  Mum at centre of Down's baby surrogacy row: 'I'll keep him if parents don't want him' Thai surrogate mother rejects offers to adopt her critically-ill son after Australian couple refuses him.
A Thai surrogate mother has declared she will "not give my baby to anybody" and rejected dozens of offers to adopt her six-month-old son after an Australian couple refused to take the boy when they learned he had Down's syndrome.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11007770/Mum-at-centre-of-Downs-baby-surrogacy-row-Ill-keep-him-if-parents-dont-want-him.html
 

   All of a sudden she has realized that she has a cash cow and doesn't want to part with him.   Thainess!!

Fact or an opinion of yours? Bet you are the centre of attraction in the bars.

[dagobert]

And now the Australian Government is involved, this little boy will get every kind
of medical support possible.
He will now have the opportunity to get the best help avaliable.
While the Australian half will be shamed, and so they should be...

Sent from my GT-P3100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ATF]

I was glad to hear the mother has received over 200k USD in donations so whatever happens she has money to take care of the child.

[brianfon]

Makes me feel embarrassed to be Australian, callous and uncaring, sad reflection of the me generation

[PeVee1st]

Sadly the little boy is being used in the latest scam for money, how low can some go???? It was reported earlier that the Australian "mother" was asian, I wonder what nationality?. Also, as surrogacy is illegal & making false statements is illegal, how did the "healthy" girl travel. Which country issued the Passport???
Think about it, it smells like a scam!!!! Now the poor mother has 6 million baht to assuange her "sins".


Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ATF]

Sadly the little boy is being used in the latest scam for money, how low can some go???? It was reported earlier that the Australian "mother" was asian, I wonder what nationality?. Also, as surrogacy is illegal & making false statements is illegal, how did the "healthy" girl travel. Which country issued the Passport???
Think about it, it smells like a scam!!!! Now the poor mother has 6 million baht to assuange her "sins".


Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

 

The surrogate mother was asked to undergo an abortion at 7 months which is horrific and anti-Buddhist. The DS should have been detected much earlier but the Aussies were paying the bills.

 

It's not a scam.
 

[Mosha]

Media reports are saying she was asked to terminate at 7 months

[shaurene]

SURROGATION
Surrogate left with unwell baby
The Nation
 
SYDNEY: -- Australian couple took twin sister but left Chon Buri mother with Down's Syndrome boy

Reports that an Australian couple abandoned a baby with his surrogate mother in Thailand because he has Down's Syndrome have raised fears that both countries will move to restrict international surrogacy.

The boy was born to Thai woman Pattaramon Chanbua in December and while an Australian couple took his healthy twin sister, they left him behind, according to media reports.

"They [the surrogacy agency] told me to carry a baby for a family that does not have children... They said it would be a baby in a tube," Pattaramon told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The 21-year-old from Chon Buri province said she agreed to carry the child for a fee of Bt400,000 - enough to educate her own two children and pay back debts.

But she is now left with the baby boy, who also suffers from a life-threatening heart condition, and cannot afford to pay for the medical treatment he needs.

"I don't know what to do. I chose to have him... I love him, he was in my tummy for nine months," she told the ABC.

Reports about the boy being "abandoned" have triggered a media frenzy in Australia and a wave of donations to a fundraising page created last week, while Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was an "incredibly sad" situation.

"I guess it illustrates some of the pitfalls involved in this particular business," he told reporters.

By yesterday, well-wishers had raised more than US$140,000 (Bt4.5 million) in donations for the baby via the "Hope For Gammy" website, which was also flooded with comments.

"From my children to yours. They are the future and come all differently but always a gift from above," wrote one donor.

Under Medical Council of Thailand regulations, surrogacy should only be undertaken by parents who have had at least one child or couples with the same bloodline.

Commercial surrogacy, in which a woman is paid to carry a child, is not permitted in Australia but couples are able to use an altruistic surrogate who receives no payment beyond medical and other reasonable expenses.

However, Surrogacy Australia said more couples choose to go overseas than find an altruistic surrogate at home, with 400 or 500 each year venturing to India, Thailand, the United States and other places to do so. "It's just much easier overseas," chief executive Rachel Kunde said. "There's so much red tape involved [in Australia]."

Kunde said the details of the latest case were not clear, and it was not known if the Australian couple involved were even aware the boy was born or told that he had been aborted.

Some Australian states have banned commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas, but Kunde said Australia, which has no national legislation on surrogacy, needed better regulation.

"Our greatest fear is that Australia is going to ban international surrogacy altogether," she said.

"We are hoping that the government will make accessing surrogates in Australia easier."

It is not known if Thai authorities are investigating this case yet, or whether Pattaramon may have also broken Thai law.
 
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Surrogate-left-with-unwell-baby-30240112.html
 
[thenation]2014-08-03[/thenation]

Discusting the Aussie government should arrest them and take away the baby they took back. Shows they not interested to bring a child up. Aussies.

[WitawatWatawit]

 

  Mum at centre of Down's baby surrogacy row: 'I'll keep him if parents don't want him' Thai surrogate mother rejects offers to adopt her critically-ill son after Australian couple refuses him.

A Thai surrogate mother has declared she will "not give my baby to anybody" and rejected dozens of offers to adopt her six-month-old son after an Australian couple refused to take the boy when they learned he had Down's syndrome.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11007770/Mum-at-centre-of-Downs-baby-surrogacy-row-Ill-keep-him-if-parents-dont-want-him.html

 

   All of a sudden she has realized that she has a cash cow and doesn't want to part with him.   Thainess!!

 

 

There but for the grace of God go I. No, I don't mean the baby. I mean you.

[tigermonkey]

I am getting in here late, but as a medical professional, for me the entire case simply does not add up. It should never happen  that fraternal ( non-identical) twins are born as a result of gestational surrogacy. Either the surrogacy was a 'traditional surrogacy', in which the surrogate mother is infused with the father's sperm, or the fertility clinic was incredibly incompetent by implanting not one but two foetuses if truly a gestational surrogacy.

Gestational surrogacy, which has been presumed here, but never clearly specified involves In Vitro Fertilization ( IVF). One or more eggs are taken from the female parent and fertilized in vitro by the male parent sperm. The resulting zygote(s) are then grown for several days on whatever growth medium is chosen. The zygotes (s) or embryo(s) are closely monitored during these several days for normal growth and health. Downs Syndrome would not be in any way apparent at this stage. 

At the end of the several days, the healthiest embryo is selected and implanted in the surrogate mother for gestation, but only one.

There should be no way that two embryos would be implanted, unless the clinic is planning to sell the second baby, or is grossly incompetent. This should never have happened.

I see the clinic to be at least as much of a villain, and perhaps more, as compared to the Australian couple

[samran]

  Mum at centre of Down's baby surrogacy row: 'I'll keep him if parents don't want him' Thai surrogate mother rejects offers to adopt her critically-ill son after Australian couple refuses him.
A Thai surrogate mother has declared she will "not give my baby to anybody" and rejected dozens of offers to adopt her six-month-old son after an Australian couple refused to take the boy when they learned he had Down's syndrome.
 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/11007770/Mum-at-centre-of-Downs-baby-surrogacy-row-Ill-keep-him-if-parents-dont-want-him.html
 

   All of a sudden she has realized that she has a cash cow and doesn't want to part with him.   Thainess!!

Mate, you are a few cents short of a dollar, you really are. The mother here was the one lugged with an unexpected burden. And she's been dealing with it on her own for 6 months even before this became a story.

It isn't as if she has gone our looking for this.

Such an awfully cynical perspective on life you must have. Hope you never need the help of strangers lest one day someone apply the same judgment on you to which you've just applied to this lady.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand Edited August 3, 2014 by samran