Surrogacy in Thailand article

[TheButterflyOfTheStorms]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43169974

A "shy, unmarried man" wants to father 1000 babies via the rented wombs of poor Thai women, Cambodian women and who knows who else.

The entitlement is utterly horrifying. Surrogacy across economic lines (and of course normally across sex lines) makes me deeply uncomfortable but this is a step beyond.

Thailand has banned it but it's just popping up in poorer and poorer countries.

Babies as commodities - part of a rich man's collection. Grim.
Just because we can do things in society, doesn't make it right or ethical.

'Surrogacy isn't going to be banned when there are so many childless couples desperate to have children.'

Well I wish it would be.

Thailand's laws seem to be very lax on many matters.

Surrogacy in Thailand was unregulated until a series of high-profile cases like this and baby Gammy brought it to national and international attention and led to the change in the law.

A similar example is Thailand's laws on gender reassignment surgery. Thailand had been a centre for (cheap by western standards) surgery for several decades, with very little legislation.

However following outrage at westerners bringing 16 year olds to Thailand to be castrated, the law was tightened up in 2009 to bring it in line with the rest of the world, raising the minimum age to 18, among other measures.

Sadly there is still little sign at the moment of Thailand acting on the scandal of child prostitution and sex trafficking, which are still a major part of its sex tourism industry.

Commercial surrogacy isn't just in poorer countries. It is legal and big business in many US states. But it was a lot cheaper in less wealthy countries like India, Cambodia & Thailand until those countries clamped down on it. Commercial surrogacy is big in Russia too, but probably less easy to access for westerners, and even harder for non-heterosexual couples.

That is the most bizarre story. Why did he want 1000 children? I'm assuming some kind of wanting to pass on his genes weirdness but really. Odd.

I have a friend who got caught up in the Thailand scandal. They went to collect their twins and had to stay for an extended amount of time because the Thai government stopped all surrogate babies leaving the country. I met her a couple of years later.
It makes me v uncomfortable. We’re in Aus, her egg donor is not registered and gets her medication online, and so doesn’t abide by the rules that a donor can only donate 3 times in our state. My friend now has beautiful twins after trying for 10 years to have a baby, but wombs for rent is a horrible concept, and I say that as someone who donated eggs (to a relative, no surrogacy involved).

Surrogacy like so many other issues shows that when push comes to shove many people don't give a shit who or how we exploit. I'm completely opposed to it, and yes I have suffered from infertility but the cost of another human is not the choice you should be allowed to make. Bodies should never be for sale in my opinion.

I find it interesting because the sale and rent of women's bodies is often compared to picking fruit or similar shitty work for low pay.

But renting the inside of a woman's body, whether sex work or surrogacy, isn't the same in my book. Particularly when these forms of 'work' are so dangerous for the women involved. It's akin to organ trade. In fact renting a womb and buying a kidney seem very similar to me.

I think people gloss over or don't really understand (or don't care to think about) that pregnancy can risk the woman's life, result in long term or permanent serious health issues, affect future fertility, cause mental health issues and so on. What people ask of a surrogate is huge.

I remember reading this BBC article , a good but understandingly depressing.

India surrogate mothers talk of pain of giving up baby - www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-37050249