Australian government offers citizenship to surrogate baby in Thailand

BANGKOK, August 5 (TNA) - The Australian government has granted citizenship to a Down's syndrome surrogate baby of an Australian couple--who was born in Thailand--in order to cover his treatment costs. The latest development was reported on Tuesday in a case in which the baby, identified as "Grammy", was born with Down's syndrome and heart disease from a Thai surrogate mother serving the Australian couple and it then turned out that "Grammy" has a twin sister, whom the couple took to Australia, while he has been left in Thailand. The story has drawn a global attention. At Samitivej Sriracha Hospital in Thailand's seaside Chon Buri Province, the Thai surrogate mother and Vijit Phanayingphaisal, marketing and public relations chief of the hospital, told a press conference, meanwhile, that the Australian government has offered the Australia citizenship to "Grammy" for his lifelong medical welfare. The Thai surrogate mother said she accepted the offer, but she would not have the baby treated in Australia, as she already received medical payment from an Australian foundation, and she would not let the baby be treated in Bangkok either, reasoning that the treatment in Chon Buri was good enough. (TNA)