Once a hub for affordable surrogacy following restrictions in neighbouring countries, Cambodia is trying to curb the practice because of human trafficking concerns.
Commercial surrogacy is a highly popular service around the world — but as countries crack down on the potential for exploitation, it is becoming steadily harder for prospective parents to pursue.
In Western nations, surrogacy services can cost between €50,000 and €200,000. As a result, some Europeans are turning to developing countries where surrogates can be found more affordably.
Among the top destinations is Cambodia, where surrogacy became widespread after the practice was heavily restricted in neighbouring countries like Thailand, India and Nepal.
Bill Houghton, founder of the Sensible Surrogacy agency, explains that when surrogacy agencies are forced to close due to local bans, they often relocate to the nearest destination without restrictive legislation.
“Surrogacy has been growing recently because it has become more widely known, the availability of surrogacy has increased, also because of celebrities who have taken that route and publicised how they form their families, which increases the demand,” he explains.
The stories of clients from outside Asia are legion, and Cambodian agencies like Shenzhou Zhongtai have long facilitated surrogacy for clients from across the globe.
Liang Bo, chairman of Shenzhou Zhongtai, recalls Russian couples living with HIV who successfully had children via surrogacy in Cambodia. One Dutch couple had a child through a Cambodian surrogate named Bopha, who remains in contact with the parents and regularly receives updates on the child.
But far from welcoming the influx of foreigners ready to pay women to carry children for them, the Cambodian government has decided to crack down by enforcing a ban that was last updated in 2016.
The authorities step in
Cambodia has long struggled with human trafficking, particularly in connection with online scams and forced labour, and the problem has badly damaged the country’s image.
According to Cambodian authorities, vulnerable women are often trafficked into illegal surrogacy or other exploitative situations under false pretences.
These women are frequently lured to Cambodia from abroad — as seen in a particularly dramatic recent case in which a police raid on a villa in Kandal province near Phnom Penh discovered 24 pregnant foreign women who have been charged under Cambodia’s law on human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The women were placed under care at a Phnom Penh hospital and could face two to five years in prison after they deliver their babies.
Among them are 13 pregnant Filipino women, accused of illegally serving as surrogate mothers in Cambodia after being recruited online.
Cambodian officials view these women as offenders who conspired with organisers to act as surrogates and sell the babies for profit.
And the crackdown is happening not only in destination countries but in the home countries of parents seeking surrogates abroad. Italy recently criminalised overseas surrogacy, adding to a growing list of nations seeking to curb the practice.
Severe economic pressure and exploitation
The fate of the 13 pregnant Filipino women arrested in Cambodia remains uncertain, but their situation sheds light on the darker side of international surrogacy.
Stefani Albert, a specialist in women, peace, and security in the Philippines, explained that Filipinos, especially women, make up a significant portion of the global migrant workforce. They are disproportionately represented in sectors such as domestic work, nursing, and the service industry.
Although surrogacy is not as common, the case of the Filipino women in Cambodia highlights their need to support themselves and their families.
“They are often promised a significant amount of money, and out of desperation for a better life, they accept the offer, even if it comes with risk,” said Albert.
He tells Euronews that these women are motivated to act as surrogates by limited job opportunities, lack of healthcare and poor social security in the Philippines. By carrying babies, they gain access to better medical care and financial compensation that they would otherwise struggle to obtain.
“The surrogacy cases of the Filipino women show the severe economic pressure they face,” Albert says.
Additionally, as explained by Houghton, the poor quality of education in rural areas mean that women who agree to become surrogates are often not fully informed about the potential risks and the implications of their decisions.
“They sometimes do not understand the contracts they offer to sign and the terms of the agreement they are participating in,” he says. “They are given huge sums of money without a real understanding of what is involved.”
The future of surrogacy in Cambodia
The Cambodian government continues to crack down on the practice, viewing commercial surrogacy as a form of human trafficking that treats children as commodities.
According to Chou Bun Eng, Cambodia’s deputy minister of the interior, surrogacy negotiations often devalue children. The government has promised to monitor surrogate mothers closely and arrest anyone who attempts to smuggle babies out of the country.
However, surrogacy agencies continue to operate clandestinely, leaving intended parents and surrogates alike in a legal and ethical grey area.
And yet, the global demand for affordable surrogate services persists, raising questions about the future of this controversial practice and its implications for women in developing countries.
According to Houghton, as long as couples continue to face infertility, the demand for surrogacy will remain essential, and it is crucial for surrogacy agencies and prospective parents to fully understand the legal frameworks that govern surrogacy in any given destination country.
Houghton advises agencies and individuals looking for surrogates to “identify jurisdictions worldwide that explicitly support the parents and explicitly support the surrogate”.
