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If some real time speculations are to be believed, Thailand is changing its surrogacy legislation so that foreigners can opt for gestational surrogacy in Thailand without having to use Thai partners. Besides, foreigners will be permitted to export Thai sperm and eggs for surrogacy abroad under the proposed changes related to gestational surrogacy in Thailand.

Law changes are intended to help Thailand become a center for healthcare, generating more revenue for the nation. According to the authorities, it will take around two months to evaluate the change, and it will need to be modified before being submitted to the Cabinet while listing other aspects like surrogate cost or gay surrogacy cost in Thailand.

What is the existing law related to surrogacy in Thailand?

Surrogacy in Thailand is only permitted for Thai couples or foreigners who have a Thai spouse under the current laws and regulations. Additionally, Thai citizens are unable to export their frozen sperm or eggs. According to Thares Krassanai-Rawiwong, Director-General of the Department of Health Service Support, Thailand is losing chances as a result of these two prohibitions.

If the legislation is changed, a system for Thai women interested in becoming surrogates to register will exist to ensure that the kids won’t be sold into slavery. Hospitals and the surrogacy agency in Thailand will have a tracking system to monitor the mother and child during the nine months of pregnancy and after delivery.

There have also been some instances of illicit surrogacy in Thailand in the past. A Thai doctor was accused of being involved in a criminal organization that recruited Thai women to deliver babies for clients via a fake surrogacy agency in Thailand in China back in May 2020.

In February 2021, authorities allegedly broke up a second international surrogacy racket. According to reports, travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic prevented surrogate moms from delivering the infants to buyers in other countries. During the raids, two infants were discovered. In addition, officers detained three suspects who were thought to be agents and four women who were thought to be surrogate moms.

When did surrogacy become illegal for foreign parents?

To put an end to a “rent-a-womb” industry that made the Southeast Asian nation a leading destination for reproductive tourism, Thailand’s interim parliament passed a bill in 2015 that forbids foreigners from using surrogacy services.

A number of surrogacy scandals rocked Thailand that year, including claims that an Australian couple abandoned their Down syndrome child and sent only his healthy twin sister back to Australia.

Another case included a Japanese man who, according to Thai media reports, fathered at least 16 children with the use of Thai surrogates in a “baby factory.”

In August, Thailand gave initial approval to a draft law that would make commercial surrogacy illegal. The proposal was originally read in November and was signed into law on Thursday.

The purpose of this regulation is to prevent Thai women from becoming the global womb. According to Wanlop Tankananurak, a member of Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly, this rule prohibits foreign couples from traveling to Thailand in order to obtain commercial surrogacy services.

Foreign couples are not permitted to use surrogacy services, and the legislation mandates that surrogate moms must be Thai and older. The key is that if a couple is Thai or mixed race, they can find a Thai woman to be their surrogate as long as she is over 25. He added that breaking the legislation entails a “serious prison penalty.”

According to detractors, making commercial surrogacy illegal could drive the sector underground and make it more difficult for patients to find reputable doctors and medical treatment.

Following a coup in May, Thailand’s junta—known as the National Council for Peace and Order—dissolved the upper chamber Senate and transferred all legislative power to an interim assembly that the military leaders personally selected.

The way forward!

Intended parents can hope for some good things in the near future in regards to surrogacy for everyone in Thailand. Until then, let’s wait and watch how things unfold in this very famous south Asian country.