Laos is the next explosion waiting to happen

Laos is the next explosion waiting to happen

In recent days news has come from Thailand that a man was arrested trying to smuggle vials of sperm into Laos. Apparently the export of sperm form Thailand is prohibited without government approval. And the alleged reason he was trying to do this?

Well the obvious one- it was to enable surrogacy to occur in Laos. Apparently this was his 13th trip across. The sperm is said to have come from Chinese and Vietnamese men and donated  in Bangkok.

Laos has no regulations concerning surrogacy. Recently a maternity hospital was built there- organised by Dr Pisit. Quite simply this is a bomb waiting to go off- just as we saw in Thailand, India, Nepal, Cambodia and Mexico.

This is the same Dr Pisit who was at the centre of the Baby Gammy saga- and the same Dr Pisit who helped a Japanese man have between 13 and 16 children through surrogacy. The same Dr Pisit who was charged by Thai authorities, and then apparently the charges were dropped.

As I said in January, if you are thinking of going to Laos for surrogacy- just as people ended up going to Cambodia and then got stuck- don’t. There are other places to undertake surrogacy- lawfully and safely.

Request an Appointment
Fill in the form below to find out if you have a claim.
Request an Appointment - Stephen Page
Things to Read, Watch & Listen

WA surrogacy law: same-sex couples win landmark case

For far too long, Western Australia singled out gay couples, single men, and many others in the LGBTQIA+ community for unequal treatment under its surrogacy law. That discrimination has now been struck down in a landmark case, and it is a significant step forward for fairness, family formation, and legal common sense. The case was… Read More »WA surrogacy law: same-sex couples win landmark case

International Surrogacy Insights: Join Me at the Growing Families Conference

International surrogacy can open extraordinary possibilities for intended parents, but it also comes with legal complexity that should never be underestimated. The rules are different from country to country, sometimes from state to state within the same country, and what looks straightforward at the beginning can become very complicated once parentage, citizenship, travel and documentation… Read More »International Surrogacy Insights: Join Me at the Growing Families Conference

30 Years a Specialist & 21 Years Together: The Page Provan Story

Some anniversaries arrive with fanfare. Others sneak up quietly and then suddenly feel enormous. At the end of June and the beginning of July 2026, two milestones sit side by side. One marks 30 years as an accredited family law specialist. The other marks 21 years working alongside Bruce Provan. Together, they say something important… Read More »30 Years a Specialist & 21 Years Together: The Page Provan Story

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board