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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/13/australian-in-cambodia-on-surrogacy-charges-says-she-has-never-been-in-trouble-with-law
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Australian in Cambodia on surrogacy charges says she has never been in trouble with law | Australian in Cambodia on surrogacy charges says she has never been in trouble with law |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| An Australian nurse denied running an illegal surrogacy service in Cambodia when her trial began on Tuesday, the first case of its kind in the country that recently banned the practice. | An Australian nurse denied running an illegal surrogacy service in Cambodia when her trial began on Tuesday, the first case of its kind in the country that recently banned the practice. |
| Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, was arrested in late November with two Cambodians and accused of recruiting foreign couples and Cambodian surrogate mothers to a clinic in the capital Phnom Penh. | Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, was arrested in late November with two Cambodians and accused of recruiting foreign couples and Cambodian surrogate mothers to a clinic in the capital Phnom Penh. |
| The detentions came just two weeks after Cambodia moved to outlaw the surrogacy industry, which critics say exploits poor women, after a similar ban in neighbouring Thailand pushed the business across its borders. | The detentions came just two weeks after Cambodia moved to outlaw the surrogacy industry, which critics say exploits poor women, after a similar ban in neighbouring Thailand pushed the business across its borders. |
| The trio were also charged with faking documents to obtain birth certificates for the newborns. | The trio were also charged with faking documents to obtain birth certificates for the newborns. |
| In court on Tuesday Davis-Charles said she played no part in arranging surrogacies. | In court on Tuesday Davis-Charles said she played no part in arranging surrogacies. |
| Instead she said her role was limited to providing medical care to a total of 23 surrogate mothers who carried babies for 18 Australian and five American couples. | Instead she said her role was limited to providing medical care to a total of 23 surrogate mothers who carried babies for 18 Australian and five American couples. |
| “They find the clinic” by themselves, she said of the would-be foreign parents, adding that she was also not involved in the recruitment of Cambodian surrogates. | “They find the clinic” by themselves, she said of the would-be foreign parents, adding that she was also not involved in the recruitment of Cambodian surrogates. |
| The nurse said she received $8,000 from each couple while surrogates received around $10,000. | The nurse said she received $8,000 from each couple while surrogates received around $10,000. |
| All of the infants were born and moved out of Cambodia before her arrest, she added. | All of the infants were born and moved out of Cambodia before her arrest, she added. |
| Davis-Charles, who is from Melbourne, told the court she left Thailand more than a year ago after Bangkok outlawed commercial surrogacy and moved to Cambodia, which at the time lacked regulations on the industry. | Davis-Charles, who is from Melbourne, told the court she left Thailand more than a year ago after Bangkok outlawed commercial surrogacy and moved to Cambodia, which at the time lacked regulations on the industry. |
| Thailand for years hosted a thriving yet largely unregulated international surrogacy industry that was particularly popular with same-sex couples. | Thailand for years hosted a thriving yet largely unregulated international surrogacy industry that was particularly popular with same-sex couples. |
| But several scandals in 2014 – including tussles over custody – spurred the government to bar foreigners from using Thai surrogates. | But several scandals in 2014 – including tussles over custody – spurred the government to bar foreigners from using Thai surrogates. |
| Surrogacy consultants say Laos, a poor and opaque communist country to the north, has since emerged as the next frontier for the “rent a womb” business following the recent bans by Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and India. | Surrogacy consultants say Laos, a poor and opaque communist country to the north, has since emerged as the next frontier for the “rent a womb” business following the recent bans by Cambodia, Thailand, Nepal and India. |
| A number of Laos-linked surrogacy agencies and IVF clinics have cropped up in recent months, according to consultancy group Families Through Surrogacy. A Thai man was recently arrested for smuggling frozen sperm between the two countries. | A number of Laos-linked surrogacy agencies and IVF clinics have cropped up in recent months, according to consultancy group Families Through Surrogacy. A Thai man was recently arrested for smuggling frozen sperm between the two countries. |
| Some offer to carry out the embryo transfer in Laos and then provide pregnancy care for the surrogate in Thailand, a wealthier country with vastly superior medical facilities. | Some offer to carry out the embryo transfer in Laos and then provide pregnancy care for the surrogate in Thailand, a wealthier country with vastly superior medical facilities. |
| Cambodia | Cambodia |
| Surrogacy | Surrogacy |
| Asia Pacific | Asia Pacific |
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