Thailand reviews law to strictly control surrogacy

BANGKOK, August 13 (TNA) - The Ministry of Public Health fears that a bill on protecting children born with reproductive technologies may have loopholes for illegal surrogacy, prompting the Medical Council of Thailand to have an ethical subcommittee to supervise surrogacy in particular. Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Narong Sahamethapat acknowledged on Wednesday that he has told representatives of his ministry's Department of Health Service Support and the Medical Council of Thailand to review gynecological regulations to prevent hired surrogacy. Dr. Narong noted that the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) could shelve the bill on the protection of children born with reproductive technologies to ensure its solutions to relevant social problems. Medical Council of Thailand Secretary-General Dr. Samphan Khomkrit told journalists that the council will then approve on August 14 details of the ethical subcommittee to supervise surrogacy, with the panel to be set up over the next six months, assuring that wrongdoing doctors will be punished. Dr. Samphan said that the Medical Council of Thailand will convene 240 gynecologists nationwide on August 29 to discuss solutions to surrogacy. Meanwhile, the NCPO held a meeting at the Royal Thai Army headquarters in Bangkok on Wednesday morning to discuss the bill on protecting children born with reproductive technologies. (TNA)