Canberra: Australia`s government is considering intervening in the case of a baby with Down syndrome who was left with a Thai surrogate mother by his Australian biological parents, with a minister saying today that the child might be entitled to Australian citizenship.
Pattaramon Chanbua, a 21-year-old food vendor in Thailand`s seaside town of Sri Racha, is taking care of her 7-month-old surrogate baby, named Gammy, who also has a congenital heart condition.
The parents, who have not been identified in the media, took Gammy`s healthy twin sister back to their home in Western Australia state.
Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told Sydney Radio 2GB today that Pattaramon "is an absolute hero" and "a saint," adding that the law surrounding the case "is very, very murky."
"We are taking a close look at what can be done here, but I wouldn`t want to raise any false hopes or expectations," Morrison said. "We are dealing with something that has happened in another country`s jurisdiction."
Morrison`s office later said in a statement that "the child may be eligible for Australian citizenship."
Australian citizens are entitled to free health care in Australia.
"As this relates to an ongoing case and there is a need to respect privacy issues, further details are unable to be provided at this stage," Morrison`s office said.
In Sri Racha yesterday, Pattaramon said that she was not angry with the biological parents for leaving Gammy behind, and that she hoped they would take care of the boy`s twin sister they took with them.
"I have never felt angry at them or hated them. I`m always willing to forgive them," Pattaramon told The Associated Press.
"I want to see that they love the baby girl as much as my family loves Gammy. I want her to be well taken care of."
Pattaramon was promised 300,000 baht (USD 9,300) by a surrogacy agency in Bangkok, Thailand`s capital, to be a surrogate for the Australian couple, but she has not been fully paid since the children were born last December.
She said the agency knew about Gammy`s condition four to five months after she became pregnant but did not tell her.
It wasn`t until the seventh month of her pregnancy when the doctors and the agency told her that one of the twin babies had Down syndrome and suggested that she have an abortion just for him.
