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Thailand’s parliament has voted to ban commercial surrogacy after outrage erupted over the unregulated industry following a series of scandals including the case of an Australian couple accused of abandoning a baby with Down’s syndrome.
A draft bill — which would see those caught profiting from surrogacy punished with up to ten years in prison — passed its first reading in the country’s military-stacked parliament on Thursday, legislators said Friday.
“We want to put an end to this idea in foreigners’ minds that Thailand is a baby factory,” said lawmaker Wallop Tungkananurak.
“The bill was adopted with overwhelming support,” he added.
A copy of the bill seen by AFP also forbids “any middlemen or agencies… receiving any assets or benefits” through the surrogacy process.
Under its current wording it is unlikely foreigners will be able to use Thailand as a surrogacy destination with the same ease they once enjoyed.
The murky industry came under intense scrutiny this summer after a series of surrogacy scandals broke involving foreigners, prompting the promise of a crack down by Thailand’s military junta, which took power in a May coup. Continue reading
Dozens — possibly hundreds — of foreign couples are thought to now be in limbo after entering into surrogacy arrangements through clinics in the kingdom.
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