The surrogate mother of a baby whose Australian parents left him in Thailand after they found he had Down syndrome has expressed disbelief that the couple could abandon the baby.
The couple left their newborn baby Gammy with his poverty-stricken surrogate mother because he has Down syndrome and a congenital heart condition. They took his healthy twin sister back to Australia.
"I feel sorry for him, I don't know what to do," Pattaramon Chanbua said.
"I chose to have him not to hurt him.
"I love him, he was in my tummy for nine months. It's like my child, I love him like my own."
A local Thai newspaper has reported Gammy has now been rushed to hospital with a lung infection.
A crowd-funding campaign, Hope for Gammy, has now raised over $100,000 to assist Ms Pattaramon with Gammy's medical costs and ongoing care.
The unidentified Australian parents who reportedly abandoned the six-month-old baby have been accused of “unforgiveable” behaviour.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian Government agencies were examining the issue in consultation with authorities in Thailand.
"The alleged circumstances of the case raise broader legal and other issues relating to surrogacy in Thailand.
"We hope to be in a position to provide further comment and advice to the Australian public in coming days."
The Down syndrome was detected four months into the pregnancy by doctors and the mother refused to have an abortion, Fairfax has reported.
Surrogacy charities in Australia have reacted with horror, and are calling for a change in the law in Australia to encourage fewer parents to go overseas.
“It’s the kind of situation that is hard on anybody but for a couple to turn their backs on a child like this is unforgiveable,” the Global Director of Surrogacy Australia, Sam Everingham, told 9NEWS.
“It doesn’t reflect the values of surrogacy families in Australia. This family will be living with that guilt for the rest of their lives.”
When asked to give his reaction to the Australian couple’s actions, he said: “Horror and despair.”
Mr Everingham, who with his partner is a parent to two baby girls through surrogacy, said the Australian parents should have brought the disabled child here to be cared for.
“I assume a child would go into foster care if the parents didn’t want it and be supported by the foster system in Australia. There is a lot of support for disabled children in Australia not available in Thailand.”
Surrogacy Australia is calling for an urgent response from the Attorney General’s office to make it simpler for couples here to go through surrogacy.
“We want to see the Australian government to take action to fix the broken system in Australia so we don’t have to have as many people going overseas as we do now,” said Mr Everingham.
“The trouble is the Australian system is so over regulated it is pushing a lot of Australians off shore. So we are hoping this kind of case will be a kick up the bum to Attorney General’s department and George Brandis to make some much needed changes to surrogacy in Australia so we can see many more Australians engaging here at home rather than going overseas.”
He said any parent considering surrogacy needed to be fully aware of the risks.
