Struggling Phetchabun is Thailand's baby farm

Struggling Phetchabun is Thailand's baby farm

Surrogacy is big business in one part of the country where villagers are desperately poor

Lom Sak district in Phetchabun has long been known for its sweet tamarind. But a new development that has brought unexpected notoriety to the area is leaving a bitter taste in everyone's mouths.

Lom Sak is now better known as the "home of surrogacy" — a district where young women have found a way to profit from their ability to bear children.

There's little to distinguish Pakchong from other crossroads villages in Phetchabun - except the pregnant women in this surrogate capital of Thailand.

The delicious tamarind is still being planted by farmers, yet it is proving less profitable than the growth of another seed — for babies.

A total of 25 women from four of the 17 villages that make up tambon Pak Chong have been paid to become surrogate mothers, said a Pak Chong Tambon Administration Organisation official.

But on a visit to Ban Namduk Klang Moo 2, Ban Namkham Nuea Moo 5, Ban Pak-ok Moo 9 and Ban Huai Chan Moo 14, where the surrogacy cases had been reported, Bangkok Post Sunday was unable to track down any of the women.

"The last surrogate mother has just gone to Bangkok," Phetchabun governor Wichian Chantharanothai said earlier on Friday when the woman left home in the morning.

Twelve local women have conceived this year and they have been taken to the capital to see out their pregnancies and give birth. All of the others had their babies last year, Mr Wichian said. 

The surrogacy scandal came to light when the biological parents of Gammy, a baby with Down's syndrome born to a Thai mother — Wendy and David Farnell, an Australian couple — allegedly refused to take him.

Investigations into the furore that erupted uncovered Mitsutoki Shigeta, a young Japanese businessman who is suspected of having fathered 15 babies to surrogate mothers, as well as Thai doctors who allegedly arranged laboratory fertilisation.

As authorities extend their investigation to cover links between commercial surrogacy and human trafficking — involving fears of babies being smuggled across borders — relatives of the surrogate mothers in tambon Pak Chong are now becoming aware of the legal complications. Before, they had just accepted it as a quick way to get money.

"My niece is preparing to do it. She has already had her medical," said a 56-year-old woman in Ban Huai Chan Moo 14, who refused to be identified.

"But while waiting for the next step, the news [about illegal surrogacy] emerged. She's stopped everything, even though a price was agreed, because she doesn't know whether she'll be arrested by police." (Story continues below)

This house of a 26-year-old woman in Phetchabun's Ban Huai Chan Moo 14 that accommodates 10 members unveils part of her motive to become a surrogate mother for money. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The 26-year-old woman was contracted to be a surrogate mother for 350,000 baht, her relative said. She needs to earn money for 10 family members who are crammed into a dilapidated hut.

The family does not want to get rich from surrogacy, the woman's aunt said. They only want enough money to pay their debts and repair what they called "home" and to make merit by helping others.

Not everyone in tambon Pak Chong shares the feeling. Ban Pak-ok Moo 9 head Nom Mueangming disagrees with the humanitarian claim. It is about business, he said. 

Lum, a 70-year-old resident of Ban Namkham Nuea Moo 5, said money had tempted some rural people to become surrogates. They make little from farming, he said. "But calling us a 'surrogacy village' is unfair and hurts our feelings. Not all villagers do it," Mr Lum said.

Mr Nom said commercial surrogacy flourishes because the law is unclear and many people are struggling with poverty.

"If we don't want this problem then the government must solve the root causes, and do it in a sustainable manner," Mr Nom said, urging authorities to think more seriously about career development and land reform for the poor.

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