Australians have responded generously with support for this photogenic little boy so that he can receive appropriate medical treatment.

The Thai government has responded by proposing restrictions on this form of trafficking in human persons and there has been much criticism of the commissioning couple, culminating in the discovery of an apparent history of child abuse by the commissioning male partner.

The public and media reaction to these circumstances has been interesting.

The shared premise would seem to be a negative reaction to a couple abandoning their biological child because he has a disability.

There is also the plight of the birth mother who has not apparently received what was due to her under the commercial arrangement.

Disquiet has also been expressed about the fact that the arrangement was commercial and exploitative of the poverty of the Thai birth mother.

A matter that seems to be relatively hidden in this discussion is that it would have been normal Western medical practice (around 90% of cases) to have aborted Gammy when it was discovered that he had Down's syndrome, but his birth mother reportedly refused on religious and conscientious grounds.

The fact is that whatever a commissioning couple might want, a birth mother has the final say on such matters under the criminal law in most jurisdictions, though of course she may be placed under contractual and financial pressure to do as the agency or the commissioning couple want.

That decision about eugenic abortion generally favoured by the medical profession, and warranting expensive early detection by screening and invasive testing to detect abnormality, raises curious anomalies about attitudes to disability.

Disability discovered before birth is seen differently from disability after birth. Continue reading

Sources

• ABC Religion and Ethics
• Image: BBC

Surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua from Thailand is caring for seven-month-old Gammy after an Australian couple chose his healthy twin sister, but abandoned him.

The couple, David and Wendy Farnell, are the biological parents of the twins.

They say they did not know about Gammy, but news reports contradict this, with one having Ms Chanbua say the father had met the twins.

Other reports say when the couple found out about problems with Gammy, they asked Ms Chanbua to have an abortion, which she refused.

But the Farnells deny this.

In a strongly worded comment piece the Vatican's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano warned that other cases will follow.

The newspaper stated: "We should not be surprised that if parents have ordered a baby renting a woman's womb they will reject a child that is not healthy and perfect."

"If a child becomes a product to buy, it is obvious that as with any acquisition it must be to the purchaser's liking."

"People have no cause to be indignant that the couple refused a child that was ‘imperfect'," the article said.

"In realty there is little to be indignant about - if you accept the logic of a child a as product this is the obvious consequence."

The case has made international headlines, causing uproar in Australia.

Adding fuel to the fire are revelations that the father has child sex abuse convictions in the 1990s.

West Australian state authorities told the BBC they were now conducting a "full investigation" to assess Mr Farnell's "suitability" to have a young child in his custody.

Ms Chanbua has insisted Gammy's twin sister be returned to Thailand.

Both the Australian government and Thai health authorities are now looking into the case and the larger issue of commercial surrogacy in Thailand, which is mostly unregulated.

An online fundraising campaign so far has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Ms Chanbua with Gammy's medical expenses.

He has a congenital heart condition and a lung infection.

Sources

• The Tablet
• The Independent
• BBC
• Daily Mail
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald