Thailand urged to legislate commercial surrogacy controls

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Thailand urged to legislate commercial surrogacy controls
By Digital Content

BANGKOK, Aug 19 -- Thailand has been urged to quickly pass a law to control surrogacy; otherwise the country can be a hub of commercial surrogacy.

The human rights communication sub-committee of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand held a forum on surrogacy and rights today.

Participants expressed concerns about Thailand lacking a particular law to control surrogacy.

Prof Emeritus Dr Pramual Weerutamasen, a gynecologist and specialist on reproductive technology, said Thailand should quickly pass a law to protect babies born using reproductive technology and doctors' ethics could play important roles in solving problems relating to surrogacy.

Suchada Thaweesit, a lecturer at the Mahidol University Institute for Population and Social Research, said surrogacy used to be a positive issue but later turned out to involve rights infringements.

She said India, Ukraine and Russia legalized commercial surrogacy while Japan banned it.

Clients are looking for surrogates in developing countries, she said.

India is the biggest location for surrogacy and Thailand could become a hub of commercial surrogacy in the future.

Sapasit Khumpraphan, an expert at the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, said a surrogacy law in principle would have to comply with morality, natural law and fairness and respect sperm and egg owners, surrogates and babies. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-08-19