Welcome to the Wild West: Cambodian surrogacy

Welcome to the Wild West: Cambodian surrogacy

Today I came across a story from the Sydney Morning Herald about surrogacy in Cambodia.
I had heard some time ago that following the Baby Gammy saga, Thai clinics were moving to Cambodia.

Australia, according to Transparency International, is the 11th cleanest country for corruption. The US is number 17, and Cambodia is number 156, out of a possible 175.

In Asia, those previous places of surrogacy, India, Nepal and Thailand are rated as a lot less corrupt. In fact, the only places worse in Asia for corruption are Myanmar, Afghanistan and North Korea.

The infant mortality rate in Cambodia is over 10 times worse than Australia: about 42.1 per 100,000 live births. In Australia it is 4 per 100,000.

Anyone who goes to the Wild West, Cambodia, for surrogacy, is asking for trouble. Quite simply, they shouldn’t.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Australia’s Surrogacy System is Broken — Here’s What Needs to Change

Surrogacy in Australia is at a critical crossroads. Families are increasingly forced to look overseas to start or grow their families, surrogates often find themselves without clear legal protections, and children born through surrogacy face a tangled web of legal uncertainty.

Surrogacy Nightmare: Aussie Couple Referred for Criminal Charges After Overseas Baby Journey

Surrogacy can be a beautiful path to parenthood, but it also comes with intricate legal challenges, especially when undertaken overseas. In a recent and cautionary case from Queensland, Australia, a couple’s journey to parenthood through commercial surrogacy in North Cyprus ended not with joy alone, but with legal turmoil and potential criminal charges.

NSW Surrogacy FAIL: What Lawyers Got Wrong and How to Avoid It

Surrogacy journeys should be joyous and smooth pathways to parenthood, but unfortunately, legal missteps can turn them into complex, frustrating ordeals.

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