Thai surrogacy research dispels myths about surrogacy in Thailand

The researchers said that while the motivation to earn money is significant, and while surrogates do not have the psychological screening available to surrogates in the US, it is far too simple to say that their bodies are being commodified. Many of the Thai surrogates interviewed had been educated up to junior high school, and even university, several were middle class, and all had access to the internet.

Several were seeking to pay off family debt, and some were seeking to atone, in accordance with Buddhist principles, for having had abortions. Many wanted to help childless people by providing the gift of life, as surrogates do elsewhere, such as in the US and Australia.

Yuri Hibino and Yosuke Shimazono, writing in Asian Bioethics Review, said that surrogates were paid AUD$7,000-14,000 for successful delivery. These amounts are significantly greater  than a recent case reported that an Indian surrogate was paid for surrogacy- the equivalent of AUD$4,000-4,700.

For example:

Rapeepan stated that the major financial need arose from her mother’s kidney

disease: “I need money, because my mother requires dialysis treatment.” A

36-year-old divorcee explained that, as a divorcee and a breadwinner for her

household, which included two children and her mother, she was responsible

for feeding her family. Vorawan, a 29-year-old divorcée with one child to

support, stated that she needed income to pay off a debt incurred by her

mother’s business failure but also needed to take care of her child. When she

learnt about surrogacy, it appeared to be a good solution, as surrogacy was

an attractive means to gain income and also fulfil domestic and care-giving

responsibilities. In her words, “I am going to do this a few times to pay off

my mother’s 2,000,000 baht debt.

Some surrogates were not motivated by money, but out of pity for intending parents:

While interviewees frankly admitted the significance of financial incentives,

most also emphasised that the financial incentive was not the sole motivating

factor for posting an online surrogacy advertisement.

They stated that they felt pity for infertile couples and wanted to help

them have a child. For example, Eakarapong, a 34-year-old clerk and mother

of two, stated: “I want some money to start a small business, and I want

money for my children.” However, she also noted that compassion for infertile

couples was a major motivating factor. In her words, “I really wanted to help

them after I read the details on the Internet.” Many other women expressed

a similar idea. “I found the details on the Internet; there are a many couples

who want a baby, so, I thought I could help them,” stated Noppadon. “I

feel pity for childless couples,” said Keamrat. Similar statements were made

by Nattanan, a 34-year-old mother of a 12-year-old child. Rapeepan also ex-

plained, “I would like to feel the pleasure of helping an infertile couple have

a child.”

Some women stressed that their deep compassion for infertile couples out-

weighed economic motivations. Ratchanon, a 33-year-old nurse helper, stated: “I

paid for my child’s education. I don’t want a new house. I’ve already got a

car. If I get the money, I will give it to my mom.” According to her, pity

for an infertile couple was a stronger motivating factor than was earning money,

and she added that she would accept a lower fee if the commissioning couple

could not afford the ordinary fee. Similarly, Nattakorn, a 28-year-old house-

wife, stated that she would use the money that she received from a commis-

sioning couple for her two children. She also stated that “I feel like helping

others rather than receiving money.”

According to the researchers:

We must identify relevant social and cultural motivations other than

“economic” concerns to fully understand why women enter into surrogacy

arrangements. In this regard, a tentative conclusion that can be drawn from

our results is that the cultural norm determining a woman’s social role as

wife, mother, and daughter has a significant effect on a woman’s decision to

become a surrogate mother. Notably, wanting to help their parents was often

mentioned by our participants as a reason for becoming a surrogate, and this

harkens back to the cultural significance of the role of women in the Cognatic

kinship system in Thai society. The filial duty, conceived as repayment of a

debt incurred by being born and nourished, is imposed on children of both

sexes, but daughters are expected to take a more active role in caring for ageing

parents than are sons. This gender role is reinforced by a popular Buddhist

notion that a son can and should repay debt by becoming a monk, as offering

a son to Sangha is one of the most significant merit-making acts for parents

(Van Esterik 1982: 77; Keyes 1984: 227–30). Our interviewee’s statements

suggested that surrogacy is often linked with this gender role of women as

daughters. From a comparative perspective, the Indian surrogates described by

Pande and Vora, the Israeli surrogates described by Teman, and the American

surrogates described by Ragone did not mention a desire to help their parents

as a reason for becoming a surrogate as frequently as did the Thai surrogates

in our study. Another cultural factor that motivated a woman who had had

an abortion to become a surrogate was tan-bun(merit-making). One study

found that one-third of surrogate mothers had experienced abortion and this

led to the suggestion that reparation for having aborted a foetus may be an

explicit or implicit motivation for becoming a surrogate mother. This obser-

vation implicates surrogacy as a gender issue across borders.