13 foreigners bag jail terms over commercial surrogacy in Cambodia

A Cambodian court has sentenced 13 Filipino women to four years in prison for their involvement in a commercial surrogacy operation.

The women, who were among 24 foreigners arrested in Kandal province in September, were found guilty of attempted cross-border human trafficking.

This verdict came after a thorough investigation by the Cambodian police, who received tips from neighbors about the women’s activities.

According to prosecutors, the women had intended to sell the babies they carried through surrogacy to a third party in exchange for money.

As gathered, the foreigners were arrested in September after preliminary investigations led the operatives to raid a villa near Phnom Penh on 23 September.

In 2016, Cambodia issued a snap ban on commercial surrogacy after neighboring Thailand pulled the plug on the trade the previous year, putting an abrupt end to a thriving industry for hopeful parents, many from Australia and the United States.

However, demand for commercial surrogacy remains high after China eased its one-child policy, and agencies in Cambodia continue to offer the service.

In 2017, an Australian nurse who ran a surrogacy clinic was jailed for 18 months in Cambodia.

Also in 2018, 32 surrogate mothers charged with human trafficking in Cambodia were released on the condition that they raise the children themselves.