A slew of surrogacy scandals have lifted a lid on Thailand’s
largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry, which has been around for
over a decade. Below are the few controversial cases that drew a large amount
of flak and also led to Thai military government’s decision to draft a new law
that is expected to outlaw the business of surrogacy.
Below are the three scandals that brought unregulated
surrogacy sector of Thailand under scanner –
An Australian couple, who had hired a Thai surrogate to their
twins, returned home with a healthy baby girl but left behind her twin brother with
Down syndrome, in late July.
Shortly after, a new case of 24-year-old Japanese man who
fathered at least 16 babies via Thai surrogates emerged.
A third case emerged when an Australian man charged with
sexually abusing twin girls he fathered several years ago with a Thai
surrogate. The man was charged in an Australian court last year for committing
indecent acts with a child.
Thailand has become a favorite destination for couples from
Australia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and a low-cost alternative to the United
States. However, Thailand is one of the few countries in Asia where commercial
surrogacy is not specifically banned by law. Previously, the Medical Council of
Thailand had a regulation stating that doctors cannot perform surrogacy for pay
or risk losing their license. But that penalty has rarely been enforced and
there are no rules covering surrogacy agencies or surrogate mothers, leaving
room for commercial surrogacy to occur without oversight.
Thailand's New Draft Law on Surrogacy
In response to the recent global attention, Thailand’s
military government has vowed to shut down the commercial surrogacy industry. A
draft law expected to pass the junta-appointed legislature sometime this year
prohibits commercial surrogacy and would penalize offenders with up to 10 years
in prison. Agencies, advertisers, or recruiters of surrogate mothers will face
up to five years in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($3,000). Experts say
they fear the law will not end commercial surrogacy in Thailand and instead
push it underground.
Indian Surrogacy Laws remained lose for years, while the
medical council continued its attempt to regulate surrogacy sector for years. After
2002, Surrogacy Laws in India have undergone an immense change. The Union of
India is taking steps to for legalizing surrogacy and making India a risk-free
destination when it comes to international surrogacy arrangements. The Indian
Government is implementing legal mechanisms to ensure that the child born out
of surrogacy arrangement in India would have a safe passage back home. Though
such measures have affected few nationals, it could be considered legally safe
in the long run for surrogacy in India.
After rounds of discussion with various ministries, the
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill, 2013 has been cleared and will be
presented before Union Cabinet during winter session of 2014, confirmed a
senior health ministry official on September 22. The decision comes closely
after the regularisation and legal framework of Surrogacy in India was
debated. The undeniable fact about several illegal ART units cropping up across
the country to shortchange the infertile couples gives a reason for the urgent
need of passing the bill.
Indian Government has also chalked out certain guidelines on
surrogacy to make the whole process transparent and allow to hitches. The Assisted
Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill, 2013 seeks to address issues like
number of pregnancies allowed to a surrogate mother, age limit and due
compensation paid to the surrogates. A framework would be designed for
foreigners to seek surrogacy help from India surrogate mothers. With
this, the issues of consent and health of surrogate mother would also be
resolved.
The Health Ministry has considered the fact that commercial
surrogacy changes to biological ability of a woman to reproduce into a
commercial activity when money transaction is involved and lack of proper legal
framework further complicated the whole process.
Therefore, an immediate need of strong legal provisions to
safeguard the interest of the surrogate
mother, commissioning parents and the child born through surrogacy process
has been considered.
Dr Neeraj Pahlajani
Obstetrician & IVF Specialist
(MS, DNB, FMAS, DRM - Germany)
MBBS - Lady Harding Medical College - New Delhi
MS - Obstetrics and Gynecology (PGI - Rohtak)
DNB - Obstetrics and Gynecology
FMAS - World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons
DRM - Diploma in Reproductive Medicine (Germany)
Fellow in IVF & Embryology
– (USA)
Pahlajani
Test Tube Baby Centre
(Mata
Laxmi Nursing Home)
Anupam
Nagar, Near T.V. Tower, Raipur (Chhattisgarh) India
Phone:
+91- 771- 4052967, +91- 771- 4053285 Mobile: +91- 9770997645, +91-
9329630455
Email -
contact@raipurivf.com
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