FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Surrogate mum lives in hope

Surrogate mum lives in hope

AS SHE continues fighting for a chance to raise her daughter, Carmen's surrogate mother Oil still doesn't know if the baby girl is actually hers.

Speaking on behalf of Oil, lawyer Krit Khamtawee explained that she was not comfortable about the thought of her daughter being raised by two men. She said she would rather the baby was raised by her family, and that the father, Gordon Alan “Bud” Lake III, was welcome to stay and help raise their daughter. 
However, Krit revealed that Oil still does not know if she carried an embryo or if she had been impregnated with Lake’s sperm, so she doesn’t know if she is genetically related to Carmen. 
“She doesn’t want any money from the couple [Lake and Manuel Santos]. She just wants to make sure that the girl will be raised in a good family with a mother and father. If Carmen is to be raised outside the country, then at least she [the mother] should be allowed to visit her,” he said. 
In an interview with Nation TV, Oil said she felt a strong bound with the baby as she had carried her for nine months. “I gave birth to this girl. For nine months I took care of her. I’m definitely bound to her and worry for her well-being, as I have not seen her since she was born six months ago,” she said, adding that she had tried to contact the gay couple several times but in vain. 
“All I want is to see her and ensure that she lives happily. I have tried so hard and contacted many agencies to help reunite me with my baby again,” she said. 
Her team of lawyers is asking for a DNA test to see exactly who Carmen’s parents are, and if it is proved that she is not genetically related to the baby, then she will ask the gay couple to prove that they will be able to raise the child. However, Krit said, she would still want to visit Carmen regularly. 
“If she is genetically related to Carmen, then she will ask for the right to raise the baby in Thailand,” the lawyer said. Krit added that the surrogate mother’s family was financially able to raise Carmen well, adding that Oil agreed to undergo surrogacy because she felt sorry for the couple, though she did not know that she was carrying the baby for two men. 
“Oil works for a company selling fire-extinguishing equipment, and she and her partner already have a 15-year-old daughter. The family earns well and would have no difficulty raising another child,” he said. 
The lawyer explained that Oil had responded to a post on Facebook seeking a surrogate mother for a barren couple, so she felt sympathetic and contacted the agency listed in the post. 
“The agency talked her into bearing a child for a couple she did not know. As the agency had also offered her money for the pregnancy, she agreed to sign the contract,” he explained. However, after learning that the couple comprised two men, who did not want her to visit the child at all, she said she began worrying about the baby’s future. 
Krit said the public was wrong in condemning her, adding that she had never threatened the gay couple as reported. He added that they were planning to sue anybody who wrongly accused her. 
“We also plan to send a petition directly to the social development and human security minister next week and hope to try and negotiate with the ministry as the mediator,” he said. 
Previously, the surrogate mother had voiced concerns that the gay couple might be human traffickers after learning that the couple had tried to go into a surrogacy deal with another woman. 
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