Australia wants Thailand to relax surrogacy laws

[Lite Beer]

FOR HUMANITARIAN REASONS
Australia wants Thailand to relax surrogacy laws
Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Nay Pyi Taw: -- Australia asked for relaxation of Thai law enforcement on surrogacy during transition period of mothers and babies for humanitarian reasons, Foreign Ministry's Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday.

In a bilateral meeting on the sideline of Asean meeting, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop told Sihasak that her government has no policy to support commercial surrogacy and Thailand has full authority to handle the issue in accordance with domestic laws.

The surrogacy become an issue of bilateral tie between Thailand and Australia since a news that a baby boy born to a surrogate mother might be abandoned by an Australian couple after found he has down syndrome.

Investigation found the case was arranged by an agent for commercial purpose. Sihasak said the Australian minister Bishop told him that Canberra never supported any Australians to have surrogated children in Thailand.

But there might be some ongoing cases which surrogate mothers are still pregnant and Australia asked Thai authority to give relaxation to them for humanitarian reason, Sihasak said.

Asked what the Australian government can do on the particular case of a baby boy Gammy who was born to a Chonburi woman months ago, Sihasak said Australian charity groups have lent their hands to this case.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Australia-wants-Thailand-to-relax-surrogacy-laws-30240641.html

-- The Nation 2014-08-09

[Basil B]

She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

[ChrisY1]

She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

She is off her rocker...she works for Tony Abbot.......!!!

[givenall]

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She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

Yeah but the cost is issue. Aussie want a lot more money than Thais

[guava]

I never thought I'd stick up for her or anyone else in the Liberal party (and I'm not) - but that's not quite what she said. Misleading headline makes it appear like Australia is campaigning for permanent relaxation of laws, when what she actually said was more about trying to resolve whatever mess is already out there already as humanely as possible.

[EricBerg]

There's a difference between "wants" and "would like to", but I suppose that's an editorial edge.

[NongKhaiKid]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

[chooka]

I think what she is basically suggesting is that those Aussie children that have already be born and those about to born be allowed to be handed over to the Aussie parents and leave Thailand. I think she is suggesting that from this time forth do not allow any aussies to enter agreements. The humanitarian issue would be that she is concerned that the Aussie kids may be abandoned by the surrogate mothers and stuck in Thailand with no identity or citizenship. They will become beggars on the streets.

[Robby nz]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

So your all for doing things the most difficult way then ?

Never thought I would be supporting a loony ozzy but she does seem to be talking sense.

If there are already Thais who are pregnant as surrogate mothers then find out who they are, let the process continue and the babies go with the adoptive parents.

But don't let it happen again.

Consider if there are Thai girls who have been paid to carry surrogate babies or just promised (more) payment when the baby arrives, they find that suddenly there is no one to either pay them or take the babies when they are born, they don't want them nor can they afford to keep them, then what will happen to the child ?

What she is saying is; lets fix the existing problem in the best way possible for all concerned then make sure it doesn't happen again.

[Lite Beer]

Go easy on surrogates, Australia asks
Issue discussed on sideline of Asean meet
SUPALAK GANJANAKHUNDEE, KHANATHIT SRIHIRUNDAJ THE SUNDAY NATION

AUSTRALIA has asked Thailand to "go easy" on the enforcement of surrogacy rules during the period before a law is enacted for the benefit of mothers and babies for humanitarian reasons, Foreign Ministry permanent secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow said yesterday.

In a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the Asean meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told Sihasak that her government has no policy to support commercial surrogacy and Thailand has full authority to handle the issue in accordance with domestic laws.

The use of surrogate mothers has become a bilateral issue between Thailand and Australia since news emerged that a baby boy born to a Thai surrogate was allegedly abandoned by an Australian couple after they found he had Down's syndrome. Inquiries into the case found the surrogacy was arranged by a clinic in Bangkok as a commercial arrangement.

Sihasak said the Australian minister Bishop told him that Canberra never supported any Australians travelling to Thailand to get surrogate children. But there may be ongoing cases in which surrogate mothers are still pregnant and Australia asked Thai authorities to treat them gently for humanitarian reasons, Sihasak said.

Asked what the Australian government could do about the case of a baby boy nicknamed Gammy born to a Chon Buri woman late last year, Sihasak said Australian charity groups had lent support hands to this case (collecting donations for the mother).

In the meeting, Sihasak also discussed political developments in Thailand. He said that Bishop, the Australian minister, expressed her understanding about developments and offered assistance for the reform process, if Thailand wanted that.

The Abbott government strongly criticised the coup and curtailed some military activities with Thailand after the military seized power on May 22. "But the meeting mostly focused on the future of relations," he said.

Journalists in Bangkok believe Thai surrogates could be carrying dozens of children for Australian couples.

Meanwhile, the Australian couple who allegedly left Gammy here with its surrogate mother will tell their side of the story publicly for the first time today (August 10) on the Australian TV show '60 Minutes'.

The couple will not be paid for their appearance but bosses of the programme will donate an undisclosed sum to the Hands Across the Water charity, which is raising money for Gammy's care.

The charity has reportedly raised A$245,000 (Bt7.3 million) to help manage the Down syndrome baby's treatment and future needs. It has allegedly affirmed that the money will not go to the surrogate mother.

In related news, police have asked for DNA tests on nine infants found in a Lat Phrao condominium and interviewed nannies caring for them and several of the surrogate mothers.

Officers have not decided if this case is human trafficking, saying they want to question the Japanese man who arranged surrogates to have the babies about his intent and subsequent actions, deputy police chief General Pol Gen Ake Angsananont said.

But other police said they suspect these babies are part of a racket.

Police have asked Japan for information about Shigeta Mitsutoki, 24, the man who allegedly fathered the babies via the Thai surrogates, and for help in locating him for questioning.

An informed source said Japanese media were in Cambodia to look for four infants Mitsutoki is believed to have already taken out of Bangkok, after learning he was an executive of four companies in Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health Service Support will this week file two charges for violations of the Hospital Act 1998 against the operators of a fertility clinic on Wireless Road. The charges relate to operating without a proper licence (punishable by up to three years jail and/or a fine of up to Bt60,000); and allowing medical professionals to carry out procedures that breach the Medical Profession Act (punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine up to Bt20,000).

Immigration Division 2 chief Pol Maj Gen Suwitpol Imjairat yesterday called a meeting about Mitsutoki. Immigration police have found that Mitsutoki travelled in and out of Thailand over 60 times in recent years. He took four infants to Cambodia this and last year - a two-year-old boy with Japanese nationality and three infants who were Thai nationals.

Deputy city police chief Pol Maj Gen Chayut Thanathaweera said yesterday police interviewed three of the 14 surrogate mothers and asked Japan for the alleged father's details and whereabouts. He said police believed the surrogate pregnancies were part of a racket but investigators have yet to say it is human trafficking.

Thailand did not have a specific law to control surrogacy, so police would use other laws to stop the gang. For a start, the clinic involved would be charged for violations of the Hospital Act, Chayut said, adding that police were also probing 11 other clinics over unlicenced surrogacy services.

Department Of Health Service Support legal expert Chatree Pinyai said that, out of 45 clinics offering assisted reproductive treatment services, 12 allegedly provided unlicenced services and each clinic reportedly charged Bt900,000 per pregnancy.

Meanwhile, a police source said an unnamed surrogate mother of twin girls has admitted to getting paid Bt400,000 and said she gave birth at a private hospital in Bangkok.

The mother said her family understood her, and she had told her son that the babies in her belly weren't his siblings but someone else's kids that mum helped carry to birth.

The woman said she underwent a Caesarean section so she didn't see the twins' faces. An agent had showed her a photo of the twins but she felt they were not her babies.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Go-easy-on-surrogates-Australia-asks-30240644.html

-- The Nation 2014-08-10

[NongKhaiKid]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

So your all for doing things the most difficult way then ?

Never thought I would be supporting a loony ozzy but she does seem to be talking sense.

If there are already Thais who are pregnant as surrogate mothers then find out who they are, let the process continue and the babies go with the adoptive parents.

But don't let it happen again.

Consider if there are Thai girls who have been paid to carry surrogate babies or just promised (more) payment when the baby arrives, they find that suddenly there is no one to either pay them or take the babies when they are born, they don't want them nor can they afford to keep them, then what will happen to the child ?

What she is saying is; lets fix the existing problem in the best way possible for all concerned then make sure it doesn't happen again.

and what happens if a deadline or cutoff date is set, a rush to beat it ?

[simple1]

I think what she is basically suggesting is that those Aussie children that have already be born and those about to born be allowed to be handed over to the Aussie parents and leave Thailand. I think she is suggesting that from this time forth do not allow any aussies to enter agreements. The humanitarian issue would be that she is concerned that the Aussie kids may be abandoned by the surrogate mothers and stuck in Thailand with no identity or citizenship. They will become beggars on the streets.

Agree. But from the OP "Sihasak said the Australian minister Bishop told him that Canberra never supported any Australians to have surrogated children in Thailand" This is nonsense as Oz Immi has provided citizenship by descent for hundreds of children produced for Oz citizens via Thai commercial surrogacy arrangements.

Edited August 9, 2014 by simple1

[dotpoom]

She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

Australia is not asking for relaxation in the general laws concerning surrogacy as the below quote from above explains

"But there might be some ongoing cases which surrogate mothers are still pregnant and Australia asked Thai authority to give relaxation to them for humanitarian reason, Sihasak said."

Is that not a reasonable request?

[BlueSkyCowboy]

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She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

Yeah but the cost is issue. Aussie want a lot more money than Thais

Let the Thai women live in Australia for one year

[johna]

put this on the same basis as adoption, that would ensure oversight of every one involved.

[BSJ]

I alway thought that it was cheaper to get surrogate mothers in India. Maybe I was wrong!

[chooka]

I alway thought that it was cheaper to get surrogate mothers in India. Maybe I was wrong!

It was but India clamped down hard on international surrogacy so then people started looking elsewhere.

[chainarong]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

She must be off her rocker...

Thailand needs to tighten them up, if she is so concerned then change the laws in Australia and allow the Aussie Shelia's to do it for commercial purposes.

That's where the trouble lies. Australia is so hard to get anything done in this surrogate area and adoption, you would think that everyone was about breeding or adopting a terrorist the way the Federal governments carries on, like the bible belt in the US, OZ also has its holy circle.

[MickGC]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

So your all for doing things the most difficult way then ?

Never thought I would be supporting a loony ozzy but she does seem to be talking sense.

If there are already Thais who are pregnant as surrogate mothers then find out who they are, let the process continue and the babies go with the adoptive parents.

But don't let it happen again.

Consider if there are Thai girls who have been paid to carry surrogate babies or just promised (more) payment when the baby arrives, they find that suddenly there is no one to either pay them or take the babies when they are born, they don't want them nor can they afford to keep them, then what will happen to the child ?

What she is saying is; lets fix the existing problem in the best way possible for all concerned then make sure it doesn't happen again.

and what happens if a deadline or cutoff date is set, a rush to beat it ?

Set the cut-off date 9 months from now.

[NongKhaiKid]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

So your all for doing things the most difficult way then ?

Never thought I would be supporting a loony ozzy but she does seem to be talking sense.

If there are already Thais who are pregnant as surrogate mothers then find out who they are, let the process continue and the babies go with the adoptive parents.

But don't let it happen again.

Consider if there are Thai girls who have been paid to carry surrogate babies or just promised (more) payment when the baby arrives, they find that suddenly there is no one to either pay them or take the babies when they are born, they don't want them nor can they afford to keep them, then what will happen to the child ?

What she is saying is; lets fix the existing problem in the best way possible for all concerned then make sure it doesn't happen again.

and what happens if a deadline or cutoff date is set, a rush to beat it ?

Set the cut-off date 9 months from now.

Buddhist or Gregorian calender ?

[somchaismith]

They've probably already started a rush on abortions akin to the Cambodain laborers escaping to the border.

[makkam]

Interesting that now the surrogate mother has become a very rich woman ( by thai standards ) because of donations by those who feel sorry for her, she wants the other child back???

Anyone who has spent a small time in Thailand will see that disabled kids in poor families are good little for other than public begging and are treated with, at best, indifference by other thais.

The whole matter is a very very sad state of affairs, least of all for the children.

[ABCer]

I am surprised to hear that of all countries Australia expects something from Thailand.

Morally and politically it is totally improper.

Australia should put her own laws in order. In many respects, not just surrogacy.

[Brit_Doggie]

You are kidding me right, pay someone to have a child on your behalf when adoption is a viable option,it amounts to scandal and should be deemed illegal in all countries,whilst i have compassion for childless couples this form of child laundering is a step backwards.

[Time Traveller]

"Asked what the Australian government could do about the case of a baby boy nicknamed Gammy born to a Chon Buri woman late last year, Sihasak said Australian charity groups had lent support hands to this case (collecting donations for the mother)." ---

Nice the way the Australian government just flick all responsibility off to the charities groups. Of course the charity groups have no control of immigration laws or international adoption laws so won't be much help at all. Aussie government sound even more incompentent/corrupt/useless/uncaring then the Thai government.

[davidmann]

what can't you buy in thailand ?

[starky]

Interesting that now the surrogate mother has become a very rich woman ( by thai standards ) because of donations by those who feel sorry for her, she wants the other child back???

Anyone who has spent a small time in Thailand will see that disabled kids in poor families are good little for other than public begging and are treated with, at best, indifference by other thais.

The whole matter is a very very sad state of affairs, least of all for the children.

Well I might have misread it but it clearly states all monies raised will only be used for the treatment and upbringing of the child. Nowhere does it state they are just going to hand over 7 million + baht to the mother. If it is a correctly operated and managed fund then that is exactly what will happen. Lets hope that is the case.

[starky]

what can't you buy in thailand ?

Love?

[HerbalEd]

If this is true it sounds like something that a Tha ipolitician would suggest - the Line of Least Resistance.

You seem to forget that it's the Thai government that's shutting down the surrogacy business. So why would that same government want to "relax surrogacy laws" when they're in the process of doing the opposite?

[Basil B]

what can't you buy in thailand ?

Love?

True love