Thailand limits surrogacy options

Publié le 9 Aug, 2015

Following recent scandals in Thailand surrounding surrogacy , a draft law was put forward in February . This law was approved and came into force on 30 July 2015.

 

In particular, it stipulates a 10 year prison sentence and a fine of $6,200 for anyone benefiting from surrogacy requested by a foreign couple.  However, it allows heterosexual Thai couples who have been married for more than 3 years to have access to a surrogate mother.

 

In cases of authorised surrogacy, the new law affords all rights to the intended parents unlike the previous law which recognised the rights of the surrogate mother. This measure has been extended to intended parents who concluded a surrogacy agreement before the law come into force.  According to the Health Minister, this latest measure aims “to give maximum benefit to the child”.

 

Stephen Page, a lawyer specialising in surrogacy in Australia, believes that these latest measures in Thailand will lead to an increased demand for surrogacy in India or Nepal: “When surrogacy is banned in one country, the practice will invariably prosper elsewhere”.[1]

 

[1]Up until now, Thailand was the destination of choice for couples wishing to have access to surrogate mothers.  The cost of surrogacy is three times less expensive in Thailand than in the United States.

 

Medical Xpress (2015/08/07)

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