Baby Gammy’s Thai surrogate mother has demanded his sister be returned to her, after it was revealed the child’s biological Australian father is a convicted paedophile.
Baby Gammy’s Thai surrogate mother has demanded his sister be returned to her, after it was revealed the child’s biological Australian father is a convicted paedophile.
Pattharamon Chanbua, who agreed to be a surrogate to an unnamed Australian couple for a fee of $16,000, says she is “in shock after hearing this story”.
“I am very worried about my baby girl… I need help from anyone who can bring my girl back to me as soon as possible,” she told Fairfax.
“This news makes me sick. I will take care of my twin babies. I will not give her or him to any family that wants a baby.”
Ms Pattharamon had earlier challenged the Australian father to appear with her on television after the biological parents denied abandoning Gammy, who was born with Down syndrome and a hole in his heart.
In a statement to the Bunbury Mail through a family friend, the Australian couple say they have been traumatised by a messy legal battle and heavy media attention.
“Gammy was very sick when he was born and the biological parents were told he would not survive and he had a day, at best, to live and to say goodbye,” the family friend said.
“This has been absolutely devastating for them, they are on the edge.
“Legally they have been told not to say anything but they wouldn’t be able to anyway.”
The family friend says the situation was made even more difficult by the military lockdown which was happening at the time.
“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.
“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.”
Since the distressing case of baby Gammy surfaced last week, revelations have emerged about the man believed to be his biological father.
According to court documents, the man was sentenced to three years behind bars in the late 1990s for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 10.
The biological mother of the critically ill infant, has defended her husband, saying he’s a “changed man”, but the WA Department of Child protection is now investigating their case.
Neither the woman nor her husband can be identified due to legal reasons.
Despite their daughter’s birth certificate stating she was born on the same day and to the same surrogate as Gammy, the biological mother is blaming a “confusing” Thai surrogacy process and language barriers for the whole ordeal.
But according to the young surrogate, the Aussie parents were fully aware and even saw him in hospital.
“If they don’t know about the twin they wouldn’t be crying the day they took the girl out from the hospital [and home to Australia],” Ms Chanbua told the ABC’s7.30program.
Ms Chanbua also claims the couple had asked her to abort Gammy.
“They probably would not have asked me to have an abortion if they truly don’t know [about the twin with Down syndrome],” she said.
“I just cried because they were like my children.
“We lived together every day, I could feel their movements, their bodies, their hearts were already beating, they were already children. Once I heard the word abortion I was upset and cried.”
The abandonment has since raised questions about the surrogacy trade, especially for women in developing countries.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Australian government will look into the case, while Gammy continues to be cared for by his birth mother.
Meanwhile, the Hope For Gammy fund has been set up, with donations topping $230,000.
