Japanese Dad Sues Thai Gov for Surrogate Babies

The Thailand Social Development and Human Security Ministry is being sued by Mitsutoki Shigeta, the Japanese man who fathered at least nine surrogacy babies in Thailand, reports the Bangkok Post.

Vichien Chaovalit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said he received notice that the lawsuit would be filed by Shigeta’s lawer in the Nonthaburi civil court.

Caninat and Leeds’ Thailand paternity attorneys specialize in representing Thai and international cases in Thailand Family Court. 

The ministry took custody of the babies after police discovered them in a raid. At least nine of the surrogacy babies were fathered by Shigeta.   

Thailand currently doesn’t have any laws expressly governing commercial surrogacy practices, though the Thailand Draft Surrogacy Law is still under review with the National Legislative Assembly.

Read the full story here.

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Thailand Medical Council Regulations on Surrogacy and IVF

Surrogacy in Thailand: Laws and Regulations

Top Judges Say Australia Needs to Investigate ‘Reckless’ Surrogacy Laws

Couples in Australia have been breaking surrogacy laws to start their families, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that two judges are urging the government to conduct a national inquiry into surrogacy.

Chief Justice Diana Byrant and Chief Justice John Pascoe called for international surrogacy reform over various dangers in Australia’s lack of comprehensive surrogacy legislation.

Judge Byrant said, according to ABC, that it was “reckless” for Australians to be creating children without knowledge or proof of who the child’s mother is, and feared that this was potentially violating children’s human rights because “they do not know one half of their genetic material.”

Chaninat and Leeds’ Thailand child custody lawyers have extensive experience in domestic and international disputed child custody cases in Thai Family Courts.

ABC reported that Judge Pascoe said he didn’t think it was right to ban commercial surrogacy in Australia but allow citizens to pursue it “in countries where it exposes women and children to potential serious human rights abuses.”

“We can't ignore the fact that the technology is there, they [Australian couples] need to be able to access it and they need to access it in ways that protect their rights and in ways that protect the right of the child that they get through these arrangements," Pascoe said.

Keep reading more details of this story at:
Australian Broadcasting Company – Australian surrogacy laws a ticking time bomb, children risk growing up in limbo, senior judges warn

Related Thailand Surrogacy News:
Baby Gammy’s Surrogacy May Have Violated Thailand’s Medical Regulations
Thailand Closes Surrogacy Clinics: New Law May Ban
Baby Gammy: Australia Investigates Father, Convicted Child Sex Offender

Related Thailand Surrogacy Documents:
Thailand Draft Surrogacy Act
Thailand Medical Council Regulations on Assisted Reproduction Technologies

Surrogacy Laws Guide: Existing Regulations and Evolving Laws in Thailand

After the two stories of baby Gammy and a surrogacy baby factory made news headlines worldwide, reports show that Thailand is reviewing a draft surrogacy law which, if passed, would make commercial surrogacy in Thailand illegal. In the meantime, Thai authorities are continuing to investigate medical clinics and doctors who have violated current surrogacy regulations.

For a thorough explanation of the current regulations that apply to surrogacy and related procedures in Thailand, read the new surrogacy legal analysis from the Thailand Attorney Blog.

Read the Thailand Surrogacy Laws Guide here.

Stem Cell Research Suspected in Thailand Surrogacy Baby Factory

The discovery of a “surrogacy baby factory” in Bangkok, with at least nine infants fathered by the same wealthy Japanese businessman, has caused some Thai officials to fear foul play in the form of stem cell harvesting from the infants, according to The Nation.

Former minister of Social Development and Human Security, Paveena Hongsakul, led the police raid. The Nation reports that she urged police to investigate further for the possibility that the babies were bred for the extraction of their spinal cord stem cells—a procedure that can result in death.

The family attorneys at Chaninat and Leeds are experts on Thailand paternity law and have represented clients seeking to establish paternity in Thailand Family Courts.

The babies are reportedly between 15 and 50 days old and, according to Hongsakul, most of them don’t have Asian features and look Caucasian.

Read the full story here.

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Thailand Closes Surrogacy Clinics: New Law May Ban
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Becoming a Surrogate Online: "Message Board" Surrogacy in Thailand

Laws to Regulate Surrogacy in Thailand are Under Review

Thailand drafted laws to regulate surrogacy in 2004, which were then approved by the cabinet in 2010, but were never fully ratified. Because of the recent surrogacy scandals in Thailand, the Thai Parliament is now reviewing the same draft surrogacy laws.

Law firm Chaninat and Leeds has a team of Thailand child custody lawyers with decades of courtroom and counseling experience in family law matters.

There has been much speculation as to what these laws, if passed, would mean for surrogacy regulation in a country that has become a surrogacy hub in Asia. Thai Law Forum has released an unofficial English translation of the proposed laws.

Read the English translation of the Thailand draft surrogacy laws. 

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Thailand Closes Surrogacy Clinics: New Law May Ban

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