Televisions throughout Thailand were turned on to hear Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha give his debut political address. According to the Washington Post, Gen. Prayuth spoke for two hours delivering his 11-point plan in an effort to overthrow previous government authority.

In his speech, the Associated Press writes, “Prayuth has said the army needed to intervene to halt violent protests that had paralyzed the government. He has vowed to restore democracy after making sweeping political reforms, which critics say are designed to purge the influence of the ousted ruling party and benefit an elite minority allied to the establishment that has failed to win national elections for more than a decade.”

Listed on the 11-point plan was regarding surrogacy in Thailand. Gen. Prayuth wants to end it once and for all.

The article points out, “A string of recent scandals has lifted the lid on Thailand’s largely unregulated commercial surrogacy industry, which has grown over the past decade.”

Gen. Prayuth looked into the camera, and told viewers that his new Cabinet would work diligently, “to prevent and solve the problem of teen pregnancy, the medical and ethical problems of surrogacy and organ and stem cell transplants.”

The Associated Press went on to report, “The government has vowed to shut down the commercial surrogacy industry and is expected to pass a law this year prohibiting it.”

Other items on the 11-point plan included:

• Protecting the monarchy
• Putting an end to insurgency
• Addressing human trafficking and the sex trade

While the Thai government collects and implements its new laws, still, we have intended parents around the world, whose surrogates are carrying their babies in Thailand.  With laws continuing to shift, the emotional stress for both surrogates and intended parents is immense.

Our hope is that these surrogates remain safe, and the transition to get these babies to their new homes is seamless.