Bells
Staff member
An Australian couple recently hired a young and impoverished woman in Thailand to act as a surrogate for them:
In December last year, Ms Chanbua gave birth to the twins after agreeing to be a surrogate with a promised payment of about $16,000.
"Because of the poverty and debts and the money that was offered was a lot for me. In my mind, with that money we can educate our children and repay our debt," she said.
But things went wrong - it was established that one of the babies had Down syndrome.
It is here that this story becomes a horrific nightmare. The biological couple demanded she had an abortion, which she refused to have as it appears that the request may have been later on in the pregnancy, and she gave birth to twins, a healthy baby girl and Gammy, a baby boy with down syndrome. The Australian biological parents then abandoned Gammy, the twin with down syndrome, and only took their healthy twin daughter home (*insert eye twitch of rage*). Gammy was abandoned and left by his biological parents, in the care of his surrogate mother, who has been looking after him for the past 6 months.
Gammy was also found to have a hole in his heart and needs surgery to repair it, and it was at this point, late last week that Ms Chanbua, the woman who acted as the surrogate, launched an appeal here in Australia (with the help of the Australian Embassy in Thailand), to help raise money to pay for his surgery. Australians, horrified at what this Australian couple have done, raised over $200,000 in a matter of days. Since he is adored by his surrogate mother, it appears as though he will remain in her care and will receive medical treatment in Thailand in a private hospital.
Ms Chanbua advised that they, the parents, told her that they were too old to care for their down syndrome child when they took his health twin sister home with them.
As horrific as this story is, it got worse. No one here knew who the parents were. As the country raged at how they could have left him there because he suffered from down syndrome and instead, took their healthy daughter home, and the Federal Government weighed its options of seeing if Gammy was eligible for Australian citizenship and thus, free healthcare here in Australia, the biological parents, a Western Australian couple, after being contacted by the media, denied that Gammy was their son. They advised that they only had a daughter, that they knew nothing about Gammy.
That was yesterday.
And today?
As one tries to reconcile how they could simply walk away from their biological child, who they today allegedly thought would only live one day, and that they never enquired about him since then - since they advised how they wanted to bring him home and did not want to give him up - because apparently this sounds plausible in their sick and twisted little minds - after denying he was theirs yesterday and declaring they only had a daughter and that she had no twin - they apparently wanted to bring him home so much that they never enquired about his wellbeing or welfare after they returned to Australia... The story took an even sicker and twisted turn..
Late last night, the media advised that Gammy's father is a convicted sex offender. His wife allegedly knew of one conviction, declaring that he had made a mistake. Today however, it became known that he had multiple child sex offense convictions:
Mr Farnell is Gammy's biological father. His wife (Gammy's biological mother), defended her husband's previous child sex offenses convictions..
Because decent people abandon their children because they have down syndrome?
There are no words that I can say about this couple and their actions towards their son. Presently, the Western Australian police and child protection are now investigating Gammy's biological father and his Chinese born wife, and whether Gammy's twin sister was safe in their care, especially in light of their having abandoned their biological son in Thailand and in light of Mr Farnell's multiple child sex offense convictions against little girls. They are also assessing Gammy's wellbeing, but thus far, the surrogate is being praised for having taken care of Gammy, with the Government labeling her a saint for how well she has handled Gammy's care and the love she obviously has for him and his twin sister who, she advised, she would like to take care of after she heard of the biological father's child sex offense convictions.
This case has shown a horrific light on the commercial use of surrogate women in impoverished countries, who are being taken advantage of. Thailand's Government have responded swiftly, by implementing new laws which will make using Thai women as surrogates much more difficult, which has concerned many Australian parents who are currently awaiting the birth of their children from Thai surrogates. Frankly, I cannot fault the Thai Government. There is something inherently wrong in hiring the wombs of poor women and there is something so so wrong in the level of disconnect people like the Farnell's have towards their own biological children, so much so that they saw fit to leave their son in the care of the surrogate they hired, because he was not perfect enough for them.
Ms Pattaramon Chanbua is an extraordinary woman.. Whatever happens in this case, Gammy has a true mother who cares for him, and frankly, a country who will do whatever it takes to help her help him. As for Gammy's biological parents.. Their behaviour, the denials that he was theirs, then the change of story and declaration that they truly wanted to bring him home but were told he only had a day to live, so they took their healthy daughter away and left without a backward glance at their own child, because this apparently explains how much they loved him.. frankly, for them, a giant catapult flinging them into the burning sun would be too kind.
In December last year, Ms Chanbua gave birth to the twins after agreeing to be a surrogate with a promised payment of about $16,000.
"Because of the poverty and debts and the money that was offered was a lot for me. In my mind, with that money we can educate our children and repay our debt," she said.
But things went wrong - it was established that one of the babies had Down syndrome.
It is here that this story becomes a horrific nightmare. The biological couple demanded she had an abortion, which she refused to have as it appears that the request may have been later on in the pregnancy, and she gave birth to twins, a healthy baby girl and Gammy, a baby boy with down syndrome. The Australian biological parents then abandoned Gammy, the twin with down syndrome, and only took their healthy twin daughter home (*insert eye twitch of rage*). Gammy was abandoned and left by his biological parents, in the care of his surrogate mother, who has been looking after him for the past 6 months.
Gammy was also found to have a hole in his heart and needs surgery to repair it, and it was at this point, late last week that Ms Chanbua, the woman who acted as the surrogate, launched an appeal here in Australia (with the help of the Australian Embassy in Thailand), to help raise money to pay for his surgery. Australians, horrified at what this Australian couple have done, raised over $200,000 in a matter of days. Since he is adored by his surrogate mother, it appears as though he will remain in her care and will receive medical treatment in Thailand in a private hospital.
Ms Chanbua advised that they, the parents, told her that they were too old to care for their down syndrome child when they took his health twin sister home with them.
The Australian biological parents of an abandoned baby born to a Thai surrogate mother told her they were too old to care for him as well as his healthy twin sister.
The surrogate mother, 21-year-old Pattharamon Janbua, gave birth to twins — a boy known as Gammy and a girl — at a Thai hospital six months ago.
Both babies were unwell at birth and remained in hospital for a month before the Australian couple took the girl home and left behind Gammy.
The surrogate mother, 21-year-old Pattharamon Janbua, gave birth to twins — a boy known as Gammy and a girl — at a Thai hospital six months ago.
Both babies were unwell at birth and remained in hospital for a month before the Australian couple took the girl home and left behind Gammy.
As horrific as this story is, it got worse. No one here knew who the parents were. As the country raged at how they could have left him there because he suffered from down syndrome and instead, took their healthy daughter home, and the Federal Government weighed its options of seeing if Gammy was eligible for Australian citizenship and thus, free healthcare here in Australia, the biological parents, a Western Australian couple, after being contacted by the media, denied that Gammy was their son. They advised that they only had a daughter, that they knew nothing about Gammy.
The Perth couple was contacted by 9News after they were identified by the baby’s surrogate and denied they were the parents of baby Gammy.
While the couple admitted they had a baby girl about the same age as baby Gammy and that they had used a surrogate, they say she did not have a twin brother.
The couple described their surrogacy experience as “traumatising”.
The man identified as the father also told the ABC that the clinic had only told them there was a baby girl - not a boy.
Channel Nine journalist Jerrie Demasi spoke to the WA couple at the centre of the saga for an hour on Monday.
“They flatly deny of ever being aware that their daughter had a sibling,” Demasi said.
“They said they’ve looked at the (surrogate) woman in the footage on the television and that it’s not the same surrogate they met with.
“I have looked at their (daughter’s) birth certificate, the date of this little girl and Gammy match up.
“The name of the mother in Thailand and the name on the birth certificate is different…but the name on the birth certificate is actually the mother’s pre-marital name.
“They claim they had no knowledge of the boy.”
Demasi said the couple had indicated they’d be speaking with a lawyer
“They don’t really know where to go from here,” she said.
“They are really confused and shocked.”
While the couple admitted they had a baby girl about the same age as baby Gammy and that they had used a surrogate, they say she did not have a twin brother.
The couple described their surrogacy experience as “traumatising”.
The man identified as the father also told the ABC that the clinic had only told them there was a baby girl - not a boy.
Channel Nine journalist Jerrie Demasi spoke to the WA couple at the centre of the saga for an hour on Monday.
“They flatly deny of ever being aware that their daughter had a sibling,” Demasi said.
“They said they’ve looked at the (surrogate) woman in the footage on the television and that it’s not the same surrogate they met with.
“I have looked at their (daughter’s) birth certificate, the date of this little girl and Gammy match up.
“The name of the mother in Thailand and the name on the birth certificate is different…but the name on the birth certificate is actually the mother’s pre-marital name.
“They claim they had no knowledge of the boy.”
Demasi said the couple had indicated they’d be speaking with a lawyer
“They don’t really know where to go from here,” she said.
“They are really confused and shocked.”
That was yesterday.
And today?
The biological parents of abandoned IVF baby Gammy were told the ill infant had only one day to live, a family friend has said, in the first statement made on behalf of the family.
The couple also reportedly denied asking for an abortion when they learned Gammy had a congenital heart disease.
It follows earlier claims by the woman believed to be Gammy's biological mother that they did not know he existed.
A family friend, who remains unnamed for legal reasons, told Fairfax Media the twins' birth was due to take place at a major international hospital in Thailand.
But surrogate mother Pattharamon Chanbua, 21, had gone to another, smaller hospital, which apparently waived the couple's legal rights to the children, according to the report.
The friend claimed the couple were not told that Gammy had Down syndrome and felt they had no choice but to leave him in Thailand.
"The biological parents were heartbroken that they couldn’t take their boy with them and never wanted to give him up, but to stay would risk them losing their daughter also," the friend is quoted as saying.
"They prayed for Gammy to survive but were told by doctors that he was too sick, not because of the Down syndrome, but because of his heart and lung conditions and infection."
The couple also reportedly denied asking for an abortion when they learned Gammy had a congenital heart disease.
It follows earlier claims by the woman believed to be Gammy's biological mother that they did not know he existed.
A family friend, who remains unnamed for legal reasons, told Fairfax Media the twins' birth was due to take place at a major international hospital in Thailand.
But surrogate mother Pattharamon Chanbua, 21, had gone to another, smaller hospital, which apparently waived the couple's legal rights to the children, according to the report.
The friend claimed the couple were not told that Gammy had Down syndrome and felt they had no choice but to leave him in Thailand.
"The biological parents were heartbroken that they couldn’t take their boy with them and never wanted to give him up, but to stay would risk them losing their daughter also," the friend is quoted as saying.
"They prayed for Gammy to survive but were told by doctors that he was too sick, not because of the Down syndrome, but because of his heart and lung conditions and infection."
As one tries to reconcile how they could simply walk away from their biological child, who they today allegedly thought would only live one day, and that they never enquired about him since then - since they advised how they wanted to bring him home and did not want to give him up - because apparently this sounds plausible in their sick and twisted little minds - after denying he was theirs yesterday and declaring they only had a daughter and that she had no twin - they apparently wanted to bring him home so much that they never enquired about his wellbeing or welfare after they returned to Australia... The story took an even sicker and twisted turn..
Late last night, the media advised that Gammy's father is a convicted sex offender. His wife allegedly knew of one conviction, declaring that he had made a mistake. Today however, it became known that he had multiple child sex offense convictions:
THE Australian man at the centre of the Thai surrogate abandoned baby row has multiple convictions for sexual offences against children.
David John Farnell was jailed for three years in 1997 after admitting to sexually assaulting two young children.
According to media reports from the time, the West Australian electrician, who was then 39, pleaded guilty to the sex crimes and had previously admitted to molesting two teenage girls 15 years earlier.
In the newspaper article, Judge Michael O’Sullivan said his actions had violated the youngsters’ innocence and warranted a jail term.
He said Farnell would normally receive four years for his crimes but instead would be sentenced to three years because of his early guilty plea.
David John Farnell was jailed for three years in 1997 after admitting to sexually assaulting two young children.
According to media reports from the time, the West Australian electrician, who was then 39, pleaded guilty to the sex crimes and had previously admitted to molesting two teenage girls 15 years earlier.
In the newspaper article, Judge Michael O’Sullivan said his actions had violated the youngsters’ innocence and warranted a jail term.
He said Farnell would normally receive four years for his crimes but instead would be sentenced to three years because of his early guilty plea.
Mr Farnell is Gammy's biological father. His wife (Gammy's biological mother), defended her husband's previous child sex offenses convictions..
"He is a good man - people make mistakes - that doesn't mean he is a bad person forever," the woman said.
Because decent people abandon their children because they have down syndrome?
There are no words that I can say about this couple and their actions towards their son. Presently, the Western Australian police and child protection are now investigating Gammy's biological father and his Chinese born wife, and whether Gammy's twin sister was safe in their care, especially in light of their having abandoned their biological son in Thailand and in light of Mr Farnell's multiple child sex offense convictions against little girls. They are also assessing Gammy's wellbeing, but thus far, the surrogate is being praised for having taken care of Gammy, with the Government labeling her a saint for how well she has handled Gammy's care and the love she obviously has for him and his twin sister who, she advised, she would like to take care of after she heard of the biological father's child sex offense convictions.
West Australian child protection services have been called in by police to investigate the "suitability" of the Australian biological father of baby Gammy following the public disclosure of sex offences against children.
A WA Department of Child Protection and Family Support spokesman told Fairfax Media it was contacted by police on Monday night to examine the circumstances of the family following media reports of the father having been convicted of child sex offences..
The department confirmed this afternoon it had commenced an assessment of the safety and wellbeing of Gammy.
Fairfax Media has seen documents which contain the child sex charges against the man who allegedly abandoned baby Gammy with his surrogate mother in Thailand and took his twin sister.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia court documents list the 1997 charges against the man who has returned from Thailand to Bunbury, in WA’s South West, with his wife and a baby girl.
The man appeared in Bunbury court to face charges of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13 yearsand five counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13 years.
The man was given a three-year jail term, with parole, for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10.
A WA Department of Child Protection and Family Support spokesman told Fairfax Media it was contacted by police on Monday night to examine the circumstances of the family following media reports of the father having been convicted of child sex offences..
The department confirmed this afternoon it had commenced an assessment of the safety and wellbeing of Gammy.
Fairfax Media has seen documents which contain the child sex charges against the man who allegedly abandoned baby Gammy with his surrogate mother in Thailand and took his twin sister.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia court documents list the 1997 charges against the man who has returned from Thailand to Bunbury, in WA’s South West, with his wife and a baby girl.
The man appeared in Bunbury court to face charges of unlawfully and indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13 yearsand five counts of indecently dealing with a child under the age of 13 years.
The man was given a three-year jail term, with parole, for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10.
This case has shown a horrific light on the commercial use of surrogate women in impoverished countries, who are being taken advantage of. Thailand's Government have responded swiftly, by implementing new laws which will make using Thai women as surrogates much more difficult, which has concerned many Australian parents who are currently awaiting the birth of their children from Thai surrogates. Frankly, I cannot fault the Thai Government. There is something inherently wrong in hiring the wombs of poor women and there is something so so wrong in the level of disconnect people like the Farnell's have towards their own biological children, so much so that they saw fit to leave their son in the care of the surrogate they hired, because he was not perfect enough for them.
Ms Pattaramon Chanbua is an extraordinary woman.. Whatever happens in this case, Gammy has a true mother who cares for him, and frankly, a country who will do whatever it takes to help her help him. As for Gammy's biological parents.. Their behaviour, the denials that he was theirs, then the change of story and declaration that they truly wanted to bring him home but were told he only had a day to live, so they took their healthy daughter away and left without a backward glance at their own child, because this apparently explains how much they loved him.. frankly, for them, a giant catapult flinging them into the burning sun would be too kind.
