In Channel
Nine interview, couple claim Thai surrogate mother threatened to take their
healthy baby
The Guardian, Amanda Meade in Sydney, Sunday 10 August 2014
David Farnell, right, and his wife Wendy, left, with baby Pipah. The couple deny abandoning their son Gammy, who was born with Down's syndrome. Photograph: AP |
The
Australian parents of baby Gammy wanted a refund from the Thai surrogacy agency
when they were told one of their twins would be born with Down's syndrome.
"We
were very confused and we said that this is your fault, you must now take some
responsibility for this," Gammy's father, David Farnell, said in an
interview aired on Channel Nine's 60 Minutes on Sunday night.
In their
first media interview since it was revealed they had left their seriously ill and disabled son in Thailand and taken his healthy sister, Pipah, home alone,
the Farnells also admitted they would have aborted Gammy because no
"parent wants a son with a disability".
"It
was late into the pregnancy that we learned the boy had Down's," Farnell
said. "They sent us the reports but they didn't do the checks early
enough. If it would have been safe for that embryo to be terminated, we
probably would have terminated it, because he has a handicap and this is a sad
thing. And it would be difficult – not impossible, but difficult."
Farnell and
his less talkative wife, Wendy, tried to explain to interviewer Tara Brown why
they had not brought Gammy back home to Western Australia. They denied
abandoning him.
But there
were many contradictions in the interview. David Farnell admitted the couple did
not want a child with a disability but then also claimed they had wanted to
take Gammy out of Thailand but were being threatened by the Thai surrogate,
Pattaramon Chanbua.
"We
didn't leave him behind," Farnell said. "We wanted to bring him with
us but things were happening that we couldn't.
"The
surrogate mother wanted to take our girl and we were getting scared that we
were going to lose her. We had to try and get out as fast as we could."
Chanbua has
contradicted the couple in earlier media reports, saying they ignored Gammy
when they came to the hospital and were happy for her to keep him.
Farnell
admitted he had not done enough research before starting the surrogacy process
but said he had chosen Thailand because the people were kind and the hospitals
looked "clean".
During the
intense and at times bizarre interview, Farnell fought back tears and
repeatedly said he had tried his best and had been very stressed.
"It's
been very stressing," he said. "We miss our little boy. I come home
from work some days and Wendy has dressed our little girl all in blue because
she wants to remember the little boy."
Farnell
then admitted he had not tried to make contact with Pattaramon or find out
about his son's health and had not at any point contacted the Australian
embassy to request assistance with taking Gammy home.
"We
haven't asked directly," he said. "We've been trying to make sure
first that Pipah is safe. No one can take her away from us. We've been trying
to do that for six months. When we know she's 100% safe with us then we can go
and get our boy back."
Farnell
showed the most emotion when confronted with his history of child sexual
offences, for which he was imprisoned.
"I
have been convicted of child sex offences and I hang my head in shame," he
said. "And I am deeply regretful for that. I am so, so sorry to those
people. I was convicted and I went to jail."
Brown asked
him if his daughter was safe in his care as he had a history of abusing
children as young as five. Farnell said he no longer had an attraction to
children.
"I
don't have any thoughts about this at all. That is 100% the truth. I cannot do
this again. I can't do this. I know that I do not have any urges at all of this
nature. For 30 years I've known this. I don't have any urges."
Wendy said
she trusted her husband. "He had three children before, they all love him
and respect him so much. They said he's a wonderful father."
Related Articles:
Australians with surrogate babies banned from leaving Thailand – reports - New
Thailand to ban commercial surrogacy in wake of Gammy scandal
Baby Gammy may be given Australian citizenship, government suggests
Gammy's mother demands his sister's return over child abuse allegations
International surrogacy laws in the spotlight amid row over baby Gammy
Australian couple 'leave disabled baby with Thai surrogate'
The Australian father of Gammy, born to a surrogate in Thailand, has denied
abandoning the child while taking home his healthy twin sister. Photograph:
Rungroj Yongrit/EPA
|
Related Articles:
Australians with surrogate babies banned from leaving Thailand – reports - New
Thailand to ban commercial surrogacy in wake of Gammy scandal
Baby Gammy may be given Australian citizenship, government suggests
Gammy's mother demands his sister's return over child abuse allegations
International surrogacy laws in the spotlight amid row over baby Gammy
Australian couple 'leave disabled baby with Thai surrogate'
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