Australian couple abandon surrogate twin with Down's syndrome in Thailand

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zwiebel

zwiebel

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'A campaign for a baby with Down's Syndrome left with his surrogate Thai mother by an Australian couple has raised over $120,000 (£70,000).

The six-month-old boy, named Gammy, also has a congenital heart condition and needs urgent medical treatment.

Pattaramon Chanbua was left to care for him after his Australian parents only wanted his healthy twin sister.'

Apparently the couple (who haven't been identified) paid for the surrogate pregnancy, but when prenatal tests revealed one of the twins 21-year-old Chanbua was expecting had Down's, they asked her to abort the pregnancy. She refused, so when the babies were born the couple only took the girl baby back to Australia with them, as she didn't have Down's.

Chanbua says she can't afford to pay for Gammy's urgently needed treatment for his heart condition, and people worldwide have been donating money for it. She already has two children.

'Tares Krassanairawiwong, a Thai health official, said it was illegal to pay for surrogacy in Thailand.'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28617912
 

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What a cold hearted couple. Are they going to tell their daughter that they abandoned her twin brother cuz he wasn't perfect?
 
This story really made me angry. I'm still hoping it's a hoax. The only words I have for the bio parents are ones that would end up looking like ********.
 
Very sad for both to be separated. :(

So many have donated money so Gammy can have the much needed operations and a good start in life. His parents deserted him to a life of poverty and he would surely have died but for the kindness of people donating money and Pattromon willing to care for him. The parents should feel very, very ashamed imo.
 
I'm guessing he wasn't simply abandoned. Australia is very tight about bringing in individuals with disabilities. Is it possible that legally speaking, adoption is involved in surrogacy? I know a gentleman with an adopted child with DS, he can't move back home and take her. His family went on to adopt another disabled child that had been raised by Australians in another country, they couldn't adopt him and take him home, so they chose to find another family for him.
 
Oblio said:
I'm guessing he wasn't simply abandoned. Australia is very tight about bringing in individuals with disabilities. Is it possible that legally speaking, adoption is involved in surrogacy? I know a gentleman with an adopted child with DS, he can't move back home and take her. His family went on to adopt another disabled child that had been raised by Australians in another country, they couldn't adopt him and take him home, so they chose to find another family for him.
Click to expand...

If the baby is their biological child (even if only one of them contributed) that wouldn't be considered "adopting" a foreign national would it?

Since we don't know the whole story I have a hard time painting this couple as "evil". The surrogate could have agreed to certain procedures if the pre-natal tests showed birth defects etc...and then changed her mind and refused to go along with the agreement. In addition this baby doesn't "just" have downs syndrome there are apparently other very severe health problems that may have been expected before his birth hence the bio parents request to abort.

If there was NO agreement ahead of time then I would side with the surrogate.
 
It can take years of waiting and interviews to adopt in Australia. It all has to be legally done through government agencies.

Was she able to get a birth certificate naming her as the biological mother? Money will buy you anything.

If this story is true then I would want these people outed in the media but that won't happen because they would not be named as it would also name the innocent daughter.

Looking at the photo the Grammy seems to have white skin. JMOO
 
I am linking the ABC news article, but I have just been listening to BBC Radio News live interviewing the ABC journo who spoke to surrogate mom Chanbua. What she said was;

The AU$22,000 donated so far is all being held by an Australian charity, and that has ensured little Gammy WILL get the medical treatment he needs. (*My note: I think heart problems are a common side-effect of Down's Syndrome)

Surrogate mum really didn't know what she was letting herself in for when she agreed to carry the babies - she asked if she would have to have sex with the father.

Surrogate mum is very poor, only agreed to carry the twins in order to provide for her two existing children, but very much loves little Gammy. Can't understand why he was left behind. He has a husband and extended family and only her need to get medical treatment for Gammy led her to talk to the press.

Surrogate mum's main fear now is Australian couple will try and take Gammy away.

Frankly, babe sounds like he's in safe hands and much loved, in my opinion. His med needs are taken care of now too. I hope he stays right where he is, and hopefully, one day his twin sis will learn of her lost brother, and they'll be reunited as adults.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-02/outrage-as-australian-parents-desert-surrogate-mother/5643074
 
Abortion is generally not culturally approved of in Thailand - especially amongst Buddhists, which surrogate mum is. Would-be parents in Australia might be wise to consider this factor in advance of arrangements; apparently there are thousands.

Surrogate mum in this case isn't even sure of the name of the agency that hired and paid her. :(
 
What a cutie pie Gammy is!

Yes about 48% of babies born with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect- doctors today are very adept at the reparations.

My son with Down syndrome is the light of our lives- I wouldn't want the Australian couple to raise him.

His life will be hard enough with those who don't know or love him- he will need those closest to him to honor, adore and love him... sounds like the surrogate mom and family will be that for him.

I feel so sorry for his twin sister.
 
When arranging for surrogacy, it's important to make sure surrogate is not against abortion.
There was a somewhat similar case in the US recently, surrogate refused to have an abortion for a fetus that had multiple defects.
She even moved to another state with different surrogacy laws.
Somebody against abortion shouldn't agree to surrogacy, IMO.
 
jjenny said:
When arranging for surrogacy, it's important to make sure surrogate is not against abortion.
There was a somewhat similar case in the US recently, surrogate refused to have an abortion for a fetus that had multiple defects.
She even moved to another state with different surrogacy laws.
Somebody against abortion shouldn't agree to surrogacy, IMO.
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I don't know about that JJenny- I see it the exact opposite way, quite frankly. If you are looking for a designer baby and can't produce one yourself maybe you should throw in the towel. Even an adopted baby isn't sure to produce optimal results in health (mental or otherwise) or personality.

It all makes me quite ill... people seeking perfection in an imperfect crap shoot.
 
^Exactly. Women aren't vessels and babies aren't commodities. If you go to great lengths to have a child you get what you're given. It shouldn't be like a commercial product that you can return if it's faulty, it's a human being you have responsibility for (not to mention responsibility towards the poor woman who they were exploiting). Leaving him to a life of poverty at best, and slow death or abandonment at worst is cold. This woman shames them even though she has next to nothing.
 
Surely the Australian should ensure he has care in Australia on the same basis that any other Australian would? Surely it's no different to if the father had gone out and fathered a child with a Thai woman.
 
Supernovae said:
Leaving him to a life of poverty at best, and slow death or abandonment at worst is cold.
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I should also have mentioned leaving him as a burden (albeit a much loved one) on this poverty stricken woman.
 
BBM
Frigga said:
What a cutie pie Gammy is!

Yes about 48% of babies born with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect- doctors today are very adept at the reparations.

My son with Down syndrome is the light of our lives- I wouldn't want the Australian couple to raise him.

His life will be hard enough with those who don't know or love him- he will need those closest to him to honor, adore and love him... sounds like the surrogate mom and family will be that for him.

I feel so sorry for his twin sister.
Click to expand...

This.
I can honestly say, if my parents had revealed to me at some point that I had twin they 'left behind' I wouldn't have got a moment's peace until I found my sibling. I'd have been officially haunted. Maybe that's just me though.
 
Supernovae said:
Surely the Australian should ensure he has care in Australia on the same basis that any other Australian would? Surely it's no different to if the father had gone out and fathered a child with a Thai woman.
Click to expand...

Just to add that someone should start a petition to make sure this happens. Australia has high standard children's heart surgery in Melbourne.
 
Supernovae said:
^Exactly. Women aren't vessels and babies aren't commodities. If you go to great lengths to have a child you get what you're given. It shouldn't be like a commercial product that you can return if it's faulty, it's a human being you have responsibility for (not to mention responsibility towards the poor woman who they were exploiting). Leaving him to a life of poverty at best, and slow death or abandonment at worst is cold. This woman shames them even though she has next to nothing.
Click to expand...

The thanks button just wasn't enough. This bears repeating.
 
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