Thailand Parliament votes to ban commercial surrogacy

Thailand’s parliament has voted to ban commercial surrogacy. This decision was taken by Thailand’s military Junta which came to power in May, 2014.
A voted draft bill has provision which mentions that anyone profiting off surrogacy will be given a maximum ten year prison sentence. The bill also forbids any middlemen or agencies, receiving any assets or benefits through the surrogacy process
This decision was outcome of outrage that had erupted over the largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry following allegations that an Australian couple abandoned a baby with Down’s syndrome.
In 1997, commercial surrogacy was supposedly banned by Thailand’s Medical Council. But, the booming surrogacy industry had sprung up in Thailand which had attracted many foreigners.
This industry came under intense scrutiny after a series of surrogacy scandals broke involving foreigners.

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2014