Thai government bans commercial surrogacy

[webfact]

Thai Government Bans Commercial Surrogacy
By Khaosod English


Mitsutoki Shigeta, 24, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok in 2013. Mr. Shigeta, 24, is under investigation by Thai police for having fathered a dozen babies in Thailand through a surrogate clinic in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s junta-appointed legislature has passed a bill outlawing commercial surrogacy in the Kingdom following a string of surrogacy scandals last year.

The new law, passed by the National Legislative Assembly on Thursday, stipulates that only married couples with at least one Thai partner can access surrogacy services in Thailand.

The surrogate mother, who must be Thai and over 25, cannot receive any direct fees for the service.

The law was proposed last year after Thailand’s reputation as a go-to destination for affordable “fertility tourism” came into the spotlight following a series of international scandals.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1424415735

-- Khaosod English 2015-02-20

[djjamie]

This no nonsense Junta are really making some positive changes.

Only takes a few bad eggs to foster change.

[webfact]

Thailand bans surrogacy for foreigners after scandals
AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has passed a law banning foreign couples from using Thai women as surrogates after a series of high-profile scandals tainting the image of the unregulated industry.

The legislation was unanimously approved by Thailand's junta-picked parliament on Thursday in a bill spurred by the case of an Australian couple accused of abandoning a baby with Down's syndrome while taking his healthy twin sister borne by a Thai surrogate.

"Thailand and its women's uteruses will no longer be a hub" for surrogacy, said National Legislative Assembly member Wallop Tungkananurak.

Under the new law, likely to be enforced by June, only Thai couples or those where at least one partner comes from Thailand will be eligible to use surrogates in the kingdom.

They will have to prove that they are unable to bear children and have no relatives to act as surrogates on their behalf.

Anyone found breaching the law could face up to 10 years in jail, said Wallop.

Commercial surrogacy is officially banned by the Medical Council of Thailand and authorities moved to close several IVF clinics in the weeks after the scandal over the Australian couple last August.

The pair denied deliberately leaving the boy, called Gammy, with the Thai surrogate mother, who was paid around $15,000 to carry the twins.

Gammy's biological father, David Farnell, a convicted sex offender, is under investigation by Australian authorities regarding the wellbeing and safety of the baby's twin, Pipah.

Dozens of foreign couples were thought to have been left in limbo after entering into surrogacy arrangements through clinics in Thailand before last year's scandals.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-02-20

[toybits]

Probably one of those things that Stung Thailand's Human Trafficking record... Sorry folks - Barn is now closed!

[FloridaExport]

It was always illegal, wasn't it? I understand that certain events have shown a dark side to the practice, but it stands to reason that the fact that it is and was illegal is part of the problem. I fail to see how a well regulated legal surrogacy with background checks on potential parents would be a bad idea. I would think poor women with few job skills would be better off making money from surrogacy than turning to certain other professions that the Thais are well known for.

There are plenty of people who are incapable of conceiving for whatever reason but want children that are biologically theirs. People will still do surrogacy in Thailand. Yelling that it is illegal isn't going to change that. Making rules to protect the parents and the surrogates might at least keep the undesirables away.

Edited February 20, 2015 by FloridaExport

[kinmaew]

I can't believe it but I actually agree with this one thing their "Government" has done.

The idea of two men or two women raising a child is ridiculous and unnatural - Supporters of this don't even respond hell will freeze over before I change my mind and not interested in any dialogue with you instead respect my right to freedom of expression.

This will also stop those imbeciles who want "Designer Babies" then piss off when they are not good looking enough. Mad world.

[Basil B]

<SNIP>

The idea of two men or two women raising a child is ridiculous and unnatural...

Even worse, a sex offender paedophile.

[noitom]

What about the pregnancies in progress? Is there protection for them.

[wgdanson]

Thailand bans surrogacy for foreigners after scandals

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand has passed a law banning foreign couples from using Thai women as surrogates after a series of high-profile scandals tainting the image of the unregulated industry.

The legislation was unanimously approved by Thailand's junta-picked parliament on Thursday in a bill spurred by the case of an Australian couple accused of abandoning a baby with Down's syndrome while taking his healthy twin sister borne by a Thai surrogate.

"Thailand and its women's uteruses will no longer be a hub" for surrogacy, said National Legislative Assembly member Wallop Tungkananurak.

Under the new law, likely to be enforced by June, only Thai couples or those where at least one partner comes from Thailand will be eligible to use surrogates in the kingdom.

They will have to prove that they are unable to bear children and have no relatives to act as surrogates on their behalf.

Anyone found breaching the law could face up to 10 years in jail, said Wallop.

Commercial surrogacy is officially banned by the Medical Council of Thailand and authorities moved to close several IVF clinics in the weeks after the scandal over the Australian couple last August.

The pair denied deliberately leaving the boy, called Gammy, with the Thai surrogate mother, who was paid around $15,000 to carry the twins.

Gammy's biological father, David Farnell, a convicted sex offender, is under investigation by Australian authorities regarding the wellbeing and safety of the baby's twin, Pipah.

Dozens of foreign couples were thought to have been left in limbo after entering into surrogacy arrangements through clinics in Thailand before last year's scandals.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-02-20

Oh yes, and the PM asked the Thais not to use polysyrene containers for their food anymore. And to make sure there was toilet paper for tourists.

[manarak]

ugh. not good, Thailand is turning into a nanny state.

[Commander Tamson]

It surely doesn't have to be illegal; just regulated and monitored. But that goes for a heck of lots of other things too and since when did regulating and monitoring ever work - in the Kingdom or anywhere else.

Don't know why I'm bothering writing this post LOL

[chooka]

Foreigners can still become involved in surrogacy but must be legally married to a Thai in Thailand for no less than 3 years and reside in Thailand full time.

[Lite Beer]

NLA votes to plug surrogacy loophole
PRAPASRI OSATHANON

BANGKOK: -- THE NATION February 21, 2015 1:00 am
New law specifies that only thaI couples wIth InfertIlIty issues can access services

THAILAND HAS plugged a legal loophole that had long allowed foreign couples to practically rent a womb here.

On Thursday, National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members voted 160 to 2 in support of the Act to Protect Babies Born Through Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Four members abstained.

The surrogacy business had prospered to the point where businesses advertised for Thai women interested in earning between Bt150,000 and Bt600,000 in return for becoming surrogate mothers.

Hundreds of Australian couples, for example, were helping themselves to surrogacy services in Thailand.

Reports emerged last year about an Australian couple that had twins through the surrogacy service and rejected one of the babies because he had Down's Syndrome. They left the baby behind with the Thai surrogate mother and took only the healthy twin sister back to their homeland. Soon after that, Thai authorities found that a Japanese man had hired many Thai surrogates to deliver more than 10 babies for him.

These cases have raised awkward questions about the legal loophole, underlining the need for Thailand to tighten its control on surrogacy. Concerns have also been raised that surrogate babies could be abused too.

Under the new law, a woman can serve as a surrogate mother in Thailand only for Thai couples with infertility problems whose marriage is registered or for a Thai-foreign couple provided they have been legally married for at least three years.

In accordance with guidelines

The law also stipulates that the surrogate mother must not be a parent or a daughter of the couple.

"In the event that the surrogate mother is not a blood relative, surrogacy services provided must be in accordance with guidelines laid down by the public health minister," the law states.

It requires a surrogate mother to be at least 25 years and have given birth to a baby before. If she is a married woman, she must obtain prior consent from her husband to engage in surrogacy services.

This new law also stipulates that the couples seeking surrogacy services shall not have the right to reject the babies born through the services.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/NLA-votes-to-plug-surrogacy-loophole-30254587.html

-- The Nation 2015-02-21

[Lite Beer]

Bangkok:- Thailand is no longer a paradise for foreigners who want to rent a womb thanks to a new law that was passed by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) last Thursday.

“We don’t allow a foreign couple to get surrogacy services here anymore. Otherwise, Thai women’s wombs will become the wombs of the world,” NLA member Wallop Tangkhananurak says. He believes many problems will arise if Thailand serves as the world’s surrogacy hub.

The NLA had pushed hard for the Act to Protect Babies Born Through Assisted Reproductive Technologies in the wake of several scandals related to Thailand’s surrogacy services last year.

It broke out last July that an Australian couple left one of their twin babies, who was born through a Thai surrogate mother, behind because the surrogate son Gammy had Down Syndrome.

Soon later, authorities also found out that a Japanese man suspiciously hired more than 10 Thai women as surrogate mothers. His motive has raised concerns that surrogacy can be vulnerable human trafficking and various other unethical practice such as the use of the surrogate babies for stem-cell treatments.

This is in addition to the fact many fertility clinics were found to have violated the Medical Council’s rules that ban commercial surrogacy.

The recently-passed law on surrogacy has now allowed only a Thai couple or a Thai-foreign couple to get surrogacy services if the couple has had a fertility problem. In events of a Thai-foreign couple, the two must be married for at least three years before they start getting surrogacy services too.

Surrogate mothers, according to this law, must be at least 25 years and have given birth to baby/babies before.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/802495-thailand-no-more-paradise-for-renting-womb/

-- © thaivisa.com

[trogers]

It was always illegal, wasn't it? I understand that certain events have shown a dark side to the practice, but it stands to reason that the fact that it is and was illegal is part of the problem. I fail to see how a well regulated legal surrogacy with background checks on potential parents would be a bad idea. I would think poor women with few job skills would be better off making money from surrogacy than turning to certain other professions that the Thais are well known for.

There are plenty of people who are incapable of conceiving for whatever reason but want children that are biologically theirs. People will still do surrogacy in Thailand. Yelling that it is illegal isn't going to change that. Making rules to protect the parents and the surrogates might at least keep the undesirables away.

I doubt the issue was clear on legality. Much like 'can I U-turn here?'. Some says you can as long as there is no sign prohibiting it.

This law makes it clear.

Edited February 22, 2015 by trogers

[trogers]

Charge foreigners 10-fold.