You may or may not be aware of the ongoing situation going in Thailand which includes surrogacy and adoptions. Adopting parents from outside countries are now being considered human trafficking criminals and if they try to return to their country, could run the risk of being captured and prosecuted.
Some may also have heard about Gammy, a twin born with Down syndrome, a congenital heart condition, and a lung infection. His surrogate mother has claimed that his adoptive parents, David and Wendy Farnell deliberately left him at the hospital while taking his twin sister.
The story itself is extremely confusing and the fact that a helpless infant is in the center of the debate makes this story heartbreaking. As authorities and hospital officials try and sort out the situation, multiple stories are arising.
According to The Guardian, the Farnell’s didn’t acknowledge that they ever had twins. When asked if they would take a paternity test to clear things up, they immediately got defensive.
Media outlets are also saying that couple knew about baby Gammy but deny abandoning him, claiming they wanted to take him home. Their argument is that the surrogate mother, Ms Pattharamon refused give up both children, demanding to keep Gammy and forcing the Farnell’s to bring healthy daughter back to Australia in an effort to “make sure she was safe” according to Australia’s Sixty Minutes.
The most confusing part about the situation is while they claimed they never left the baby, they were willing to take a refund in an effort to resolve the problem.
That statement right there should raise a few red flags. Most mothers are willing to die for their children. It’s hard to believe that parents who have been 1. struggling to have children and 2. claiming they were forced to leave their sick child with minimal treatment strategies, would be willing to take a refund instead of fighting for their child. Moreover, during the interview when discussing the idea of leaving Gammy with the surrogate, his response was relief, almost as if he was happy that she wanted to take him. But remember, they were forced to leave the baby.
More importantly, what happened to him not knowing about the baby? Multiple news outlets have stated that the couple was only told about the healthy daughter.
Besides the previous mentioned, there are a few other blatant issues with the couple’s claims.
Let’s focus on the initial argument: The Farnell’s were never told about the baby boy. Who benefits from that? The surrogate mother cannot afford to take care of sick baby as she became a surrogate to gain some needed income. The hospital had to perform series of tests and treatments to keep this poor boy stable. A disabled child would definitely be looked at as a burden rather than a joy. Sad, but definitely undeniable. Telling the Farnell’s to take the healthy baby and leave Gammy seems unreasonable.
The next argument was the fact that the surrogate mother refused to give the baby away. This may be believable since in an interview, David Farnell said he was aware of the potential disability but was hopeful it would not happen stating “no parent wants a son with a disability.” If Ms. Pattharamon, felt this child would not get the love and care he needed, the idea of a refusal may be plausible.
But then what was the surrogate mother’s plan for the baby? Did she demand the baby on a whim hoping that things would work out?
Since the truth has not come out yet, we can assume all we want. What can’t be misread is the fact that the Farnell’s were willing to accept a refund in exchange for Ms Pattharamon keeping Gammy. Their story has changed multiple times since it went viral. It’s also odd that their story changed right around the time donations started pouring in to help save this child.
