You know what’s making headlines in Israel right now? Protests at the home of Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar to bring 65 babies (or soon to be babies) born to Thai surrogate mothers back to their parents in Israel.

 

The parents, 90% of whom are homosexual couples, claim the Israeli authorities are refusing to deliver Israeli passports to the babies, leaving them stuck sucking their thumbs in Thailand.

 

The Israeli government, though, has stated that the surrogacy documents signed by the Thai mothers don’t make the babies any less Thai. As the babies are officially Thai citizens giving them Israeli passports could be considered as a form of abduction by the Thai government, according to the Israeli Interior Minister.

 

Surrogacy is currently a thriving business in Thailand, where it remains largely unregulated. Looking on the website of “New Life in Thailand,” one of the many companies offering such surrogacy services it seems you can obtain a child born of a surrogate mother for as little as US$29,200, though the company refused to comment when contacted directly. 

 

Gaurav Wankhede, CEO, of Become Parents Consultancy, a company offering fertility treatments and surrogacy services, confirmed the extent of the business in the Kingdom and the current lack of regulations.

 

“It is a big industry. And I certainly welcome that and it will become more regulated. It’s not illegal in Thailand, but it’s like it used to be in India, it’s unregulated.," he confirmed. "Any kind of regulation will be better. In India, regulations made things clearer and simpler."

 

Wankhede explained that the vast majority of his clients seek him out for fertility treatments, which can cost between US$3,000 to US$35,000, and that surrogacy is only an additional option for a small number of couples.  

 

While most countries have no issues issuing passports to children born of Thai surrogate mothers, Israel seems to be interpreting Thai law differently, causing Israeli LGBT groups to question if they’re being unfairly targeted by their own government.

 

With the ongoing political situation, the legal vacuum in which fertility treatments (Thailand also offers gender selection services) and surrogacy in Thailand currently exist probably won’t be resolved any time soon.