An Australian couple has reportedly abandoned a baby boy born via surrogacy in India, potentially leaving him stateless.
The ABC reports the NSW couple returned from India with a baby girl, while leaving her healthy twin brother behind in India.
The Australian government and the Australian High Commission in India were reportedly aware of the arrangement, even though international surrogacy arrangements are illegal in NSW, where the couple lives.
According to Freedom of Information documents obtained by the ABC, the father told officials he would leave the twin boy with family friends in India who were "unable to conceive a child." This turned out to be false, as a cable from Australian High Commission staff to Canberra in early 2013 revealed.
"The proposed adoptive parents are in fact not close family friends of the biological parents, but are known to the biological parents through a mutual friend."
The documents also said the couple travelled to India in late 2012 to gain citizenship for the baby girl, but told consular staff they would leave the boy in India because they could not afford him. It was also revealed the couple already had a son in Australia and wanted a girl to "complete their family".
The couple were "repeatedly told" that abandoning the twin boy would leave him stateless, since India doesn't recognise children born from surrogacy arrangements.
"If the parents do not apply for Australian citizenship for the child, the child will be stateless in India ...our ability to provide assistance to a non Australian citizen is limited," a DFAT email on December 19, 2012 said.
DFAT said the boy was formally adopted in India, although no documentation supporting that has been made public, the ABC reported. Documents also reveal the boy is entitled to Australian citizenship, but that needs to be applied for as it's not automatically granted.
The issue of surrogacy was spotlighted last year after a West Australian couple were accused of leaving a twin boy, known as Baby Gammy, with his surrogate mother after they discovered he had Down Syndrome.
Sources: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/04/13/australian-couple-misled-indian-officials-over-abandoned-surrogacy-baby
The ABC reports the NSW couple returned from India with a baby girl, while leaving her healthy twin brother behind in India.
The Australian government and the Australian High Commission in India were reportedly aware of the arrangement, even though international surrogacy arrangements are illegal in NSW, where the couple lives.
According to Freedom of Information documents obtained by the ABC, the father told officials he would leave the twin boy with family friends in India who were "unable to conceive a child." This turned out to be false, as a cable from Australian High Commission staff to Canberra in early 2013 revealed.
"The proposed adoptive parents are in fact not close family friends of the biological parents, but are known to the biological parents through a mutual friend."
The documents also said the couple travelled to India in late 2012 to gain citizenship for the baby girl, but told consular staff they would leave the boy in India because they could not afford him. It was also revealed the couple already had a son in Australia and wanted a girl to "complete their family".
The couple were "repeatedly told" that abandoning the twin boy would leave him stateless, since India doesn't recognise children born from surrogacy arrangements.
"If the parents do not apply for Australian citizenship for the child, the child will be stateless in India ...our ability to provide assistance to a non Australian citizen is limited," a DFAT email on December 19, 2012 said.
DFAT said the boy was formally adopted in India, although no documentation supporting that has been made public, the ABC reported. Documents also reveal the boy is entitled to Australian citizenship, but that needs to be applied for as it's not automatically granted.
The issue of surrogacy was spotlighted last year after a West Australian couple were accused of leaving a twin boy, known as Baby Gammy, with his surrogate mother after they discovered he had Down Syndrome.
Sources: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/04/13/australian-couple-misled-indian-officials-over-abandoned-surrogacy-baby
Mumbai (Bombay) Time
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