This article from the BBC follows up on two recent “baby scandals” that emerged in Thailand last year. A young woman in Thailand was paid by an Australian couple to be a surrogate and gave birth to twins. One of the twins was born with Down’s Syndrome and the Australian couple would not take him. The boy lives now with the woman who gave birth to him, who has received financial support from an Australian charity. The other scandal involves twelve infants, all fathered by the same Japanese man through various Thai surrogates, currently living in a state-run shelter. The man has been awarded custody of three of the children but suspicions remain about why he chose to have so many babies, according to the article.
In light of these and other recent surrogacy issues, the Thai government has passed a law cracking down on this “womb for rent” business in Thailand. The law bans foreigners from seeking surrogates in Thailand. The practice of this kind of surrogacy emerges from patterns of poverty and limited financial resources experienced by many women in Thailand, and in the larger region, who enter into surrogacy arrangements to make money, though many women admit it is very difficult to go through, emotionally and physically. Some of these women are coerced, raped, or trafficked, according to the article. The surrogate business in Thailand is fraught with corruption and limited regulation and this law is a step towards addressing these issues, though some are skeptical about how well it will be enforced, says the article.