Australian couple abandon surrogate Down's Syndrome baby

[alp227]

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.

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 asked her to have an abortion but she refused, saying it was against her Buddhist beliefs.

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

[SoCalDem]

1. Childbirth is always an unknown quantity

Bringing a third person into the mix never makes it any easier.
Unfortunately for the surrogate, she was merely renting her uterus, and any religious restrictions should have been thought of BEFORE she agreed.



And what the Australian couple may find out, is that NO child is "perfect".

They will never be able to undo what they have done, and the child they kept will find out what they did.

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. +1

[LeftyMom]

3. Usually surrogacy contracts are clear about when to abort

and both parties discuss this extensively and agree before the pregnancy begins. Because multiples are comparatively likely it's a major concern.

A family friend was a surrogate and her having had an abortion in the past was actually considered a plus: the prospective parents could trust that she wasn't going to insist on carrying a pregnancy that was progressing badly.

Part of the problem here was that the initial arrangement was questionably legal: Australia forbids surrogacy for payment and so does Thailand. My friend who acted as a surrogate was also in demand bevause California has great laws: the parents came from Korea so that she would carry what turned out to be their healthy set of twins.