Surrogate mothers in Cambodia may face prison, according to Agence France Presse on December 21, 2018
The picture comes from the Internet City of Phnom Penh
Yin, who is pregnant and afraid, hides in a house in the suburbs of Phnom Penh
Yin is one of countless Cambodian surrogate mothers who risk prison to get rich rewards from their clients
The end of the one-child policy has caused desperate couples in poorer countries in the Mekong region to be too old to have children
In these countries, the "rental uterus" industry is encountering legal obstacles
Cambodia banned commercial surrogacy in 2016, but there are still brokers - and eligible young women - who have bypassed the ban in exchange for certain remuneration
Yin Jianli, 24, received $9000 from a Cambodian agency and asked her to surrogate a couple
"At first I hesitated because I was afraid of what the girls in the village would think of me," yinjianli told AFP Afraid of being discovered, she would not reveal her real name
The picture comes from the Internet
Due to lack of funds, she agreed to move to a house in Phnom Penh and live with other women who have gone through the same process
After the relaxation of the one-child policy, more than 90 million women are eligible to have a second child
The ban on commercial surrogacy has led couples eager to have children to travel to Southeast Asia where supervision is weak
However, in Thailand, a series of high-profile disputes led to the prohibition of this practice in 2015, including the struggle for custody and a couple accused of abandoning their children after suffering from Down syndrome at the time of their child's birth
Parents immediately set their sights on Cambodia on the other side of the border, but quickly banned the practice a year later because they feared that women in financial difficulties might be exploited
Industry observers are eagerly awaiting the introduction of relevant laws in Cambodia to better regulate surrogacy and protect women and children from trafficking
At the same time, a network of Cambodian and international intermediaries still exists in the dark, and raids and arrests have exposed the scale of demand
Experts say couples are willing to pay $40000 to $100000 to have a child, while surrogate mothers usually get $10000 to $100000
$50000
Before the ban was issued, kukunashvili had a surrogate agency in Cambodia
She said that at present, there are still more than 100 or other Asian agencies operating
'more regulation is needed, not a complete ban, 'she said
"The ban allows the industry to operate in private," kukunashvili, head of the Georgia based new life global network, told AFP She added that Cambodia and Thailand had put the fate of these young surrogate mothers in the hands of "complete strangers"
Critics also said that when the women were arrested, the authorities unfairly blamed them, not the recruiters
This year, Phnom Penh arrested more than 40 surrogate mothers in two different cases, accusing them of trafficking in human beings
In one case, 32 pregnant women were granted bail after promising not to give up their children
"These women are victims of unscrupulous intermediaries
If they are illiterate, they are unlikely to even understand the ban imposed by Cambodia," said Sam Ellingham, director of surrogacy nonprofit families in Australia
Ellingham said that for those women who can conceive without being found, they will be transferred to Thailand or other countries to have children
He added that hospital staff may be bribed to issue birth certificates in the name of expectant mothers
Zhouwenying of the national anti trafficking Committee said that Cambodian authorities are trying to raise people's awareness of the ban and its impact, especially among vulnerable garment workers in factories across Cambodia
"We are worried that without preventive measures, the campaign to recruit surrogate mothers from factories may spread," she told AFP Nevertheless, she advocated a hard line against those who violated the law, including women, who were often poor and tried to make money for their families
"This is an illegal business
If they still risk doing so, they will face legal sanctions
" Four months pregnant, yinjianli became increasingly nervous about her role in the secret operation
Three months after her pregnancy, she had a new worry - traveling abroad
"Another agent explained to me that I should continue to be pregnant," she said
"He said it was better for me and my children
" Report / feedback
