Gay couple’s custody battle in Thailand raises ethical concerns over surrogacy

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.

A gay couple is going to court in a high-profile custody battle in Thailand with a surrogate mother who is trying to keep the child after discovering their sexual orientation.

Gordan Lake, an American and Manuel Valero, his Spanish husband – both 41 – have been unable to leave the country with Carmen, the baby girl, for over a year because the surrogate has refused to sign the documents that allow the infant to obtain a passport.

Mr Lake is Carmen’s biological father, while the egg came from an anonymous donor and not from Patidta Kusolsang, the Thai surrogate.

When Carmen was born, Mrs Kusolsang handed the baby over to the couple, who left the hospital with the infant. But, they say, she then changed her mind and refused to sign the required documents reportedly claiming she was unaware they were gay.

The couple were told Mrs Kusolsang had thought they were an “ordinary family and that she worried for Carmen’s upbringing”, according to a message Mr Lake posted on a crowd funding site that has raised $36,000 (£25,500 approx.) to help them afford the legal bills and stay in Thailand.

The case is complicated by the fact that Thai law does not recognise same-sex marriages and also by a new law that bans commercial surrogacy, which took effect after baby Carmen’s birth.

Read full, original post: Gay parents fight for custody with surrogate mother in Thailand

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