The six-month-old boy, refer to as Gammy, also has a congenital heart condition and requires pressing medical treatment. Pattaramon Chanbua was left to care for him after his Australian parents only wanted his healthy twin sister.
She was paid $15,000 (£9,000) to be a surrogate for the couple, whose identities remain unknown. Mrs Pattaramon was told of the child’s condition four months after becoming pregnant and the couple requested her to have a termination of pregnancy, however, she declined, stating it was against her Buddhist faith.
The 21-year-old, who already has two children, states she cannot afford to pay for the costly treatment to deal with his life-threatening heart condition. The cash that was put forth was a lot for her, but in her mind, with that money, she could educate her children, and could repay her debts.
Thai newspaper Thairath issued Gammy’s story last week, and an online campaign to raise cash for his medical care, which was started soon after. So far hundreds of people have given more than $120,000 (£70,000) towards the fund’s $150,000 (£90,000) goal.
There were also dozens of tidings of help for Gammy and her mother, and some stating abuse at the Australian couple’s actions.
“May this selfish and heartless couple be exposed and shamed for this horrible neglect!” one criticism stated.
It is unlawful to compensate for surrogacy in Thailand. Surrogacy can be done in Thailand, however, it has to comply with the legal process. A surrogate has to be related to the proposed parents and no money can be implicated.
Even if it is unlawful or not, when a couple agrees to surrogacy, then they have consented to take on that newborn after the mother has given delivery to it. It should not matter even if that baby is disabled or not, they have consented, which then becomes an agreement.
When a surrogate mother consents to harvest a child for a couple, she is putting faith in that couple to hold up their end of the agreement. It may not be a legal agreement, nevertheless, it is an agreement of trust, which the surrogate mother believes will be sustained.
Even though the couple had requested the woman to have the gestation stopped, it was in opposition to her sacred credos, and therefore, she did not want to stop the pregnancy, and rightfully so. She has a lawful reason for not wanting to terminate, however, now that the baby has been born, she is not in a position to provide medical care for the child.
This should be a warning to all couples looking for a surrogate mother, and when considering this method of birthing a child, it should be considered that if the couple was having a child themselves in the normal sense, if that baby was born with a disability, would they love that child any less, or would they discontinue the pregnancy, or give the child up for adoption?
Life is an extremely fragile thing, and when a child is born, that child should be looked upon as precious, even if it is disabled. A life is a life, and should not be looked upon as spoiled just because it has something disproportionate about it.
This child did not ask to be born, and therefore, it is the duty of the person or persons seeking its life to be accountable for it.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 