In two separate parts of the world, surrogacy bans and issuance of birth certificates continue to wreak havoc on parents wanting to return home with their babies. Recent media coverage on Cambodia and Mexico has triggered global criticism for those families who cannot move forward and return home with their children.

Cambodia has now become a dreadful situation for many parents since Cambodian officials announced the surrogacy ban in December 2016. While foreign parents were assured their newborns could be taken out of the country just this month its Interior Ministry officials backpedaled on that earlier decision.

“When there is an agreement, we’ll broadcast it. As for cases that are awaiting resolution, we cannot promise how they will be solved,” secretary of state Chou Bun with the Interior Ministry told a reporter. “When we are presented with cases that need resolution, we will solve them according to Cambodian law.”

Although parents are encouraged to “step forward,” many are hesitant as to the uncertainty of their outcome if they do.

One such parent is James, 33, who lives in China where surrogacy remains illegal. While James has returned home, his own parents have relocated to rear his twins in Phnom Penh until a clear cut decision in Cambodia is made. The Chinese embassy is not intervening.

“We are Chinese citizens, but our embassy has never helped and they just want to pretend that nothing has happened,” James told a reporter. “I miss them [twins] so much and I love them.”

While foreign parents remain reticent in Cambodia, over 9,000 miles away in Mexico another legal situation is brewing for three gay parents who want to take their babies home back to Israel. The Mexican Interior Ministry has temporarily restricted the issuance of birth certificates for babies born via a Mexican surrogate.

New father, Shaul Shiri, told a reporter that the reason for this cessation was local government bribery. Shiri along with the other fathers want Israeli officials to step up and help out.

“It is a real mess,” Shiri told the news. “The embassy asked us not to involve lawyers or the media and said they would resolve the situation.”

In Israel, heterosexual couples can use surrogacy to build their families; however, the law does not apply to same-sex couples. Gay individuals and couples must rely on foreign surrogacy.

Working in a stable country, like the US, would prevent these situations—as well as seeking the advice of any attorney before embarking on your surrogacy journey.