Surrogacy as international business and national disgrace of Thailand

Abstract

Commercialized surrogacy services, attracting an international clientele, used to be a big subterranean business in Thailand, but also made the country notorious as the “womb-of-Asia” (BBC News Asia 2015); the notoriety affected the country's image, the preservation and defense of which is a crucial consideration in the national authorities’ policies and decision-making processes. This article deals with the circumstances which led to legislation that proscribed commercial surrogacy, thus sacrificing the thriving business to protect the country's image. While based primarily on a case study of the so-called Baby Gammy scandal, which revealed the scope of the surrogacy industry in Thailand, the article contributes to the understanding of the triggers which induce Thai authorities to spring into action to deal with long-existing social problems, discussed by the author in previous publications.