A baby and a debate!

A continuous and evolving story, baby Gammy, born with down syndrome in Thailand through surrogacy, has shed light for the debate of commercial surrogacy. At the beginning of this incident, the controversy evolved around the parents of baby Gammy, David and Wendy Farnell, for abandoning their child in Thailand and only taking home his baby sister. However, the spotlight is focused on the legalisation of commercial surrogacy to prevent a similar incident repeating.


Advocates claim that commercial surrogacy should be legalised in Western Australia to help put a stop to the exploitation of women in developing countries.  Thailand's nelwly formed national assembly have started to investigate and have been handed the draft laws.  (SMH, 2014) This will mean when approved, surrogacy can only take place once a couple are married and a relative are involved.

Furthermore, the laws may consist of the provision for a baby to remain with the surrogate mother between 3-6 months for breastfeeding. Also, the surrogate other will be considered as the child's legal mother. ABC journalist Samantha Hawley states that the ruling army general does not want Thailand to be a surrogacy hub and expects to move quickly to outlaw the practice, essentially ending a lucraative foreign market. (ABC News 2014) 


However, it remains unclear as to what the laws will mean for Australian who already have pregnant surrogates in Thailand. However, this has not lessened arguments over the debate. Parents who have had children through surrogates in Australia say the thriving overseas surrogacy market is being fuelled by messy Australian laws. On the other hand, other perspectives are more central. For example, Dr Renate Klein is a feminist health researcher writes the following, "The right to a child is not questioned, the fact that the birth mother might regret giving away her child for the rest of her life, or decide to keep the baby, is only discussed in the context of what precautions intended parents need to take so that this does not happen. It is accepted without discussion that a "gestational surrogate" - the term used for a woman who becomes pregnant with an implanted embryo that does not contain her own genes – will not have a relationship with the developing baby as it is "not her child".  (ABC News, 2014) 




Personally I think that each family is different; different values, goals and perceptions of life. Therefore I think that it is unfair to be harsh/speaking in general terms as there is a lot of women that are affected by the topic. As for a solution, laws should definitely be more regulated and stressed to prevent further implications. 




References

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-13/thai-military-considers-draft-law-banning-commercial-surrogacy/5668846


http://www.smh.com.au/comment/baby-gammy-has-shown-the-need-for-debate-on-surrogacy-20140819-105pfx.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-12/advocates-call-for-commercial-surrogacy-to-be-legalised/5666206