Cambodia offers differing paths to commercial surrogacy

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AA) - An anti-trafficking committee is urging Cambodian surrogates and the intended parents of the babies they are carrying to come forward and apply for documentation before the children are taken out of the country.

The Phnom Penh Post reported Friday that an anti-trafficking official from the ministry of interior said after meeting with Australian embassy representatives that the process -- which was recently declared banned in a health ministry proclamation -- needs to be seen through in a transparent manner.

Last week, Cambodian officials arrested the Australian owner of Fertility Solutions PGD, which matches Cambodian surrogates with intended parents, and two Cambodian nationals.

There is currently no law on commercial surrogacy in Cambodia, where clinics began opening after crackdowns on the practice in India, Thailand and Nepal, but the health ministry issued its ban late last month.

Many of the expectant families are from Australia.

In an email to Anadolu Agency on Friday, a spokesperson for the Australian department of foreign affairs and trade said surrogacy regulation is under the jurisdiction of the Cambodian authorities, but that the Australian government has, since 2014, advised its own nationals against travelling to Cambodia for commercial surrogacy purposes.

“The Australian Embassy will continue to engage closely with Cambodian authorities on the impact of Cambodian law on surrogacy arrangements involving Australian parents,” the spokesperson said.

“However, in many cases the Australian Government will only become aware of Australians using surrogacy services in Cambodia where an intended parent seeks citizenship, visas and/or passports for children born as a result of international surrogacy arrangements,” the spokesperson added.

“The Australian Government has met with and will continue to provide consular support to Australian families affected by surrogacy laws in Cambodia.”

The Post reported that Cambodia’s foreign ministry issued a different message about the still-murky process of moving forward, saying that it would not issue birth certificates to the surrogate babies.

Interior and foreign ministry spokesmen could not be reached Friday.