The world’s media attention is currently focused on a legal battle underway in Thailand between homosexual partners and a surrogate mother.
On finding out that the intended parents were homosexuals, Mrs. Kusolsang, the surrogate mother, changed her mind and did not sign the relevant passport documentation for the child she had already handed over to the couple. Since then, Gordan Lake, the American biological father, and Manuel Valero, his Spanish husband, have been unable to leave Thailand with Carmen, pending the completion of proceedings at the end of March. Gordan Lake stated that he never concealed his homosexuality from New Life, the surrogacy agency, which has subsidiaries in numerous countries.
This is a complicated case. Thai law does not recognise same sex marriages. Furthermore, a law passed in February, just after Carmen’s birth, bans commercial surrogacy. In fact, Thailand had become a popular destination for foreign couples keen to employ surrogacy services, particularly because of the few existing regulations and competitive tariffs. However, numerous scandals have emerged (see Surrogacy and child trafficking: an account from the mother of “baby Gammy“), leading to the ban on this practice for foreigners.
Telegraph (23/03/2016)