Page 25 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

are born with health problems?” Abandoning surrogacy is not uncommon and the issue drew the world’s attention recently in the case of “Gammy”, a boy born with Down’s syndrome and health problems. “Gammy was lucky because his surrogate mother and parents in Australia wanted him, but there are many abandoned children,”Dr Poonsak said.Many cases of abandoned babiesin Thailand go unreported and can be heartbreaking. One concerned a baby with Down’s syndrome. Unlike Gammy, the baby was simply abandoned. Another case was of a twin prematurely born with abnormalities. Placed in an incubator at a private hospital in Bangkok for three months, the twin was eventually abandoned by a couple that did not want to pay 6 million baht in medical bills.The recent case of a Japanese businessman who fathered 15 children via Thai surrogates also raises questions about his motivation. The baby business can get even murkier and more sinister.“In the old days, when human trafficking rings wanted children, they just stole them, or bought them illegally,” Dr Poonsak said. “If they got caught, the human traffickers would face criminal charges. But what happens if surrogates are used as machines to produce babies for human trafficking, or for the illegal organ trade?”His prognosis may sound overly wary, yet the world already sees the exploitation of medical science to create an illegal and unethical market for human body parts.“Look at kidney transplants, and the illegal trade to buy kidneys from the poor and give them to the rich. I do not want to see surrogacy also enter into this realm.”Many cases of abandoned babies in Thailand go unreported and can be heartbreakingElite+ 23