The recent case where an Australian couple left a child (of a twin) alone in Thailand, but took their twin back to Australia is nothing short of appalling.

Where are these couple's moral values? I've seen comments online sympathise with this Australian couple. Why?

Many however think differently. Over $100,000 has been donated online. I even made a donation.

This overseas birth sector, (Surrogacy and IVF) is nothing more than a business and should be shut down worldwide.

I believe there is nothing wrong with surrogacy, as long as it is well regulated.

There aren't much regulations in this trade in Thailand, so that is how this Australian couple got way with shirking their responsibilities in caring for their disabled twin son.

The Thai surrogate stated she was willing to carry these babies for financial gain , because she lives in a poor country and has two children to feed.
The prospective parents wanted a baby and were willing to pay for all the surrogates expenses. It should be a win-win situation.

They should have taken both babies though.
Mind you, there are parents who have their own disabled child who abandon them too.
It is a hard to understand unless you have a disabled child yourself.

What will the Abbott Government do about this ? This has the potential to finally start getting our Laws in order. Those parents need to be made to support the child & carer & that support needs to be part of the will they make up.
The do-gooders are a bit slow off the blocks here I noticed.

It is the biological parents responsibility, the surrogate mother is in no way responsible for this outcome.

The law needs to be changed but don't expect much from Abbott, this is not a World Stage Grandstanding Opportunity.

It is another area where science is ahead of the law and there are people who are taking advantage of that fact, although I do not believe there is any way to successfully regulate surrogacy.

As an indicator of the ethical problems, I am reminded of the comment by a member of a gay couple in the UK who said that through surrogacy he could get the best infants that money could buy. He did not even feel the need to withdraw or moderate his statement. Designer children available to anyone with the money. Any concerns about that folks? Perhaps not, the 'Progressives' believe in me, me, me and couldn't give a rats about the child.

That brings into focus the full gambit of difficult ethical and moral issues, with one of the most serious being the risk of children becoming stateless persons, although feminists might only be offended by 'women's bodies being used', a chance to lay the blame at the feet of men.

I have little sympathy for a woman who brings a severely handicapped child into the world for everyone else to take care of, along with her of course. There are scans. Where the general consensus of the community and laws allow it, thousands of healthy foetuses are being aborted anyhow. Of course the problem with surrogacy is that the mother might decide to go ahead anyway. That is another risk of surrogacy.

It is the usual condition that the media and the ever-upset talking heads (shame ABC, shame, you can do better) are sensationalising the subject story without bothering to sort the available facts. Hey, it sells to a dumbed down audience.

'A girl next time'

Designer babies for the well off.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/britains-first-gay-dads-planning-768457

However there are thousands of children already available for adoption world-wide.