Australian nurse and surrogacy broker Tammy Davis-Charles has been arrested and is awaiting trail in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on charges related to engaging in surrogacy and falsifying documents. Police in Thailand say she has also arranged for at least 25 babies to be carried by surrogates in th country, charging $US50,000 for fees and services for each baby.
In October, the government in Phnom Penh declared that commercial surrogacy would be treated as human trafficking until laws were passed on the practice.
"Recruiting illiterate surrogates in a country with high levels of corruption to carry in many cases twin pregnancies for foreigners is not a humane, sustainable business model," said Sam Everingham, global director of the non-profit Australian consultancy Families Through Surrogacy.