it's so toxic and pure. just a teaspoon can kill a child. >> you can follow the stories we are covering on al jazeera by logging on to the website at aljazeera.com. the new technical and legal front oars of medicine allow two to create an embreo and a third to provide a womb. surrogacy is the "inside story".

hello, i'm ray suarez. sometimes our ability to do amazing things runs out ahead of our customs, legal boundaries and best practice. women who can't carry a foetus to term, who want to be mothers cap have their eggs harvested, fertilised by their partners and have another woman, a third party, carry the baby for them. gay men explored surrogacy. the story of baby gam mrk y a biological child of an australian couple born to a thai woman is the latest moment where we might pause. think more about how we manage the miracles and talk about the ethics and economics of birth. the story of baby gammy ilfreights some of the promise and pitfalls of the world of surrogate birth. >> reporter: at seven months

gammy appears a typical happy baby. the controversy continues to swirl around him. his surrogate mother sat with him in a hospital 60 miles east of bangkok where he's treated for a congenital heart continue. his story begins last year when they said they were offered the equivalent of $15,000 in exchange for acting as a surrio gait for an australian couple. they gave birth to twins, but the parents only came to pick up one child, abandoning gammy, born with downs syndrome. they were kept in the dark about the baby's condition during the pregnancy. only the local surrogacy, doctors and parents knew he had doups syndrome. during the 7th month the agency told me the parents wanted the child terminated. it's seven months, i'm not going to do it, i can't.

>> the australian couple has been identified in the press as wendy and david farr nel. some reporting says they did offer to keep both children. 21-year-old had two children of her open and a limited income when she great to be a surrio gait. she said she'll raise gammy. her story inspired an outpouring of support. the australian charity hands across the water was founded in 2004 to tie child convictions. it started a go-fund-me page for gammy raising 200,000 in support. the controversy has gripped politicians. australia prime minister expressed his regret over the case saturday. >> it's a very, very sad story and i hate to think that, you know, a child could be abandoned like that. commercial surrogacy.

money is exchanged, forbidden in australia. many couples seek the services of thai or ippian women. complications exist in the united states. would-be parents navigate a patchwork of laws ranging from those in d.c. to california, which provide a regulatory structure to support the process. and the expense sends many parents overseas. surrogacy is getting new attention, thanks to the high proel, multi -- profile, multi-parent case of baby gammy, she has considered a lawsuit against baby gammy's biological parents. people who want to take advantage of surrogacy leave homes where it's banned, looking to places where the laws are more relaxed or, indeed, still being defined. in the united states the 50 states, as i mentioned, are a

patch work of laws ranging from specific statutes allowing surrogate arrangements to pans joinings us from washington d.c. bureau, crystal travis, opener of the world of surrogacy, an international surrogacy facilitator, and the mother of three surrogate children. paul is an attorney in houston who handled cases and from "inside story" studio is naomi, a professor of law at the george washington university school of law. naomi let me start with you - are we still catching up in the legal code, in the 8 point type to where we are as people making these arrangements amongst ourselves. >> this is absolutely a case where the technology is outpacing the law. as you have mentioned, there are patch works of state laws. it depend on the state in which you live as to whether or not a surrogacy contract will be

enforceable. >> paul, do you add a level of complication when you head overseas? >> you add a level of risk. along with all the talk of complications that you are talking about. this child that you have may end up being raised in horrible conditions. it may be exposed to things you never dreamed your child would be exposed to, because you might not end up taking your kid home. most of the time though it works out well. when you have a child in this way, if you come from one country and travel to another to do that, are the contracts you make internationally with the surrogate mother enforceable in her home country? >> that's all over the mat more than in the united states. there are very few countries

that are good at enforcing those contracts. usually you rely upon the agency to be able to twist arms, manipulate people and make sure it happens so they can get more business from referrals. you have been through the process. you helped others. seems to me that there are three parties that need to be protected. the mother who is bearing the child, the parent interested in having the child born, and the child itself, how do you build in a structure to make sure all the interests are met. >> we work with attorneys depends on what country we work with, whether it be india for mexico, we have lawyers on the ground facilitating the contracts between the clinics, surrogate and intended parents. we never had an issue legally with getting children out of india or mexico.

>> what are the berms along the way that have to be understood, navigated. >> if we do surrogacy in a country where it's legal. issues that have arich with the baby gammy case have never happened. that is built into the contract that if there is an abnormality and the intended parents choose the pregnancy, that would be done. mexico doesn't recognise surrogacy. >> the state of tabasco only. >> what problems or problems does that rise. >> if you work with a doctor who is not in the state of tabasco or an agency that is not making sure that the surrogacy gives birth, that could create problems. you have a lot of agencies and companies that are coming up and

they are not legit or they are rogue agents and you could have problems. we are seeing this happen in nepal with the situation in thailand. it was never legal to pursue surrogacy there in the first place. now you have agents running to nepal and setting up new forums. the same thing happens in nepal. >> occasionally a mother change her mind. could you give birth in tabasco and head to sennora, uk ark t ark n, san luis, some other sit inside the state of mexico and be protected from surrounding the child. >> that would never happen. in order to be a surrogate international lay, you are not genetically related to the baby you are carrying. basically we are renting - parents are representing your uterus. you have no legal rights.

your name is not on the birth certificate, unlike in thailand. that's a problem, the surrogate's name is on the birth certificate. they have guidelines as well as mexico. the surrogate's name is not on the birth serive case. >> is it as clear to you as crystal. that you have no parental rights when a child emerges from your womb? >> no. because sometimes us do have some rights. but, for example, that hypothetical girl na is having the baby in that state in mexico. no one is holding her prisoner. somewhere during the pregnancy if she gets on the bus, she's gone, and the baby is gone. the american couple that have their baby in that country, they

live forever with the knowledge that that child is raised in a manner that is holy unanticipatable. it's not that clear cut. it hucially works out. --uably works out. but it is hazardous. >> it usually works out. there has to be a certain level of goodwill involved, along with the legal arrangements and the party's promising each other things, there has to be an intention to follow through. >> it's interesting that most of the surrogacy arrangements do follow through, and there is a child who is given to the intending parents, so what is important. it is important that there be goodwill, trust, cooperation among everyone involved, and then as crystal mentioned, it's important to have a contract so

people have in writing what the expectations are, with respect to the surrogacy arrangements. but in addition to the written word, you absolutely need good trust. i would imagine crystal would agree that there needs to be screening of the surrogate as well to make sure that the surrogates are fully prepared to deal with what's at the end of the pregnancy. >> is there an element of people wanting to give this gift. wanting to help it happen who think "i don't want to sign a racket. let's arrange it on our own. is there a downside? >> there could be. the reality is if you are pursuing surrogacy, you have to sign a contract in wh it be india or mexico, that's standard operating procedures in this

business. >> what about here in the states, are you advised not to handle it on your own? >> i would advise people not to handle it on their own. the reality is that the majority of the people handle it on their own and get themselves in trouble. what is happening in thailand, if you probably didn't go through an agency or facilitator, you are probably not going to get your money back. having that person that has a re-examinationship with the doctors, they can get your -- relationship with the doctors, they can get your money back. >> we'll take a short break. when we return, we'll talk about the possible pitfalls and couples who are seeking this kind of service, what they should have in mind before they do. this is "inside story." stay with us.

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somewhere in between in still others, like american states where an american couple, consisting of a man and a woman moves forward. some couples spent a lot of money, travelled extensively and enned up with no killed and no recourse. paul loany, your buzzer on your desk buzzes, the receptionist says there's a couple in the outer office interested in surrogacy. what do you need to know from them, and what do they need to hear from you? >> well they are about to start on a long-term adventure. it's not something to be accomplished in 2, 3, 4 months. in texas they'll have to find the surrogate and have to go through a home study in the nature of what we could do for an adoption, and then it has got

to be validated in court with a proceeding before the preg nancy occurs. if that cunt happen, it's a void crack. and essentially you are relying upon the carrier of the child to allow you to adopt that baby, and for a court to permit it to happen, are things easier if they come in with a woman ready to embark on the surrogacy with them. >> at least they don't have to go through the search process, but they have to go through a process to verify these are the kinds of people we want to be having children. they night not pass the background check. they may have things in their background similar to this gentleman in australia that would preclude a judge being

willing to validate the contract. it could be a mess or a blessing. >> if you are advising people, are there places in the united states where it's easier or harder where you might tell them to go ahead and do it or tell them to look elsewhere? >> it depends on people's pocket books. generally the clients that come to me generally cannot afford to pursue surrogacy, or the reality is most of the people, they have exhausted their funds. they have spend 100 or 200,000 here. in international countries, that's the last hope. that is why they want to pursue surrogacy international lay. >> to make this different and separate and less problematic than baby selling.

what protections do we have to build in. >> there are a series of protections that some states have built into the process. in illinois, both the surrogate and the intending parents have to have independent legal representations. having lawyers involved can help in terms of protecting the interests of all who are involved. screening is incredibly important of the sur gay, as well as screening of the intending parents so they know what they are getting into. screening independent legal representation and then counselling and advising can hep everyone deal with the conditions. >> i'm interested in the idea of both the couple that dires a child and the intended surrogate having separate representation. they have different interests at

take, don't they? >> yes, they have different interests at stake. the intending parents want a child, and the surrogate, there's a meeting of minds that everyone wants a child to be produced. the process of what happens if, for example, a child has, as the child born in thailand did, what happens if there are severe brain difficulties, what happens if there are health problems, the intending parents and the surrogate may have different interests when it comes to what happens to that child. the contracts generally specify different activities that the surrogate is permitted to engage in during the course of the contract and surrogacy arrangement. there may be differing interests when it comes to that as well. >> paul, can you specify, along with the surrogate's behaviour, that you will or won't take

children on board at the end of the pregnancy with certain problems or challenges are the normal run of anomalies that plague the human ration? >> are you suggesting that it might be permissible to buy your way into this and then if you have buyers' remorse you can walk away and say not my problem. >> not what i ordered. >> not in any jurisdiction in the united states, no. >> simple as that. >> no. absolutely as simple as that. >> can you order a selective reduction if, in the fertilisation process, an intended surrogate ends up carrying more babies than you had asked for? >> well, you know, that's a real interesting question. i don't think in our country

they'll be enforceable. but i think probably they should be. the law in this area is just about 25 years old. in terms of law, that's very young. we are still sorting out the details. people with creative imaginations like yours stretch legislators to come up with something to fit the problem. >> crystal, perhaps you have some insight on this, or wants to be heard on this - selective reduction. aborting when someone carries four children instead of the two or one that you may have wanted. what happens then? >> speaking from experience, my older son was a twin. one died erty in gestation, early in -- early in gestation our twins are triplets, in india if you have multiple children

they'll reduce to twins, for the safety of the surrogate and remaining foetuses. >> what about in the united states, i imagine that the idea of demanding or requesting a selective reduction gets very complicated in america. >> i don't think it's that complicated. what happens for intended parents, if their surrogate were to carry triplets that they have that in the contract that they will reduce if that's not what they want. we'll take a short break and when we come back we'll talk about the ways society is changing demanding us to get used to the idea and build in legal protections to build a framework around it. this is "inside story." stay with us.

welcome back to "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. legal and medical front ears of surrogacy this time on the programme over time as best practices emerge to protect the rights and interest of the people that want a child and the people that agree to bear those children. will we, over time, develop a body of law to handle the problems that arise from time to tile. crystal, you are in the business with world of surrogacy, prams when this be -- perhaps when this began it was infertile couples. is there a new - as is society changes, gay marriage comes online, are there new constituencies coming forward and saying "this is something we can take advantage of as well." >> certainly. i think what happened was when, you know, india started the process with surrogacy, it

wasn't just infertile couples, a lot were people that were older and their eggs aimed out - such as myself. and a lot of gay and single people were opting for the option of surrogacy because it was easier than going the adoption route. it was better to have some of your genetics than no genetics. it's part of modernity. this is not going to stop. pandora's box opened and we have to figure out guidelines and laws to put in place to remedy the situation like baby gammy. >> now that the box is open, will the world of legislation catch up quickly or might this be a social change that takes time? right now we are in a position where the legislation is reactive. when we have a bad situation we

make a law to make sure the bad situation doesn't occur. what we'll goat is proactive legislation. we'll organise this with the rest of society. it will happen. we'll have to - we'll have standardisations worldwide where we have enforceability worldwide. 30, 35 years ago, if somebody took your child across into another country, and got some kind of a child order there, you couldn't get your child back. all that has been standardized now. this will catch up too. >> naomi, we live in a world where a woman can give birth to a child to whom she is not related. have we locally not caught up, is there an emotional part of this. you teach family law.

is part of it human software that has to catch up. >> there is a part of human software that has to catch up. part can be done through counselling and advising, and part as the law becomes more clear about precisely what the expectations are. but there's still a significant portion of americans that, in fact, a significant portion of countries that bans surrogacy because they don't like the idea that a woman - the woman that gives brth is not going to be identified as the legal mother. >> naomi, crystal and paul, thank you for joining us. that is the end of this "inside story". le programme may be over. the conversation continues, we want to hear about the issues. log on to facebook, send us your thoughts on twitter.

see you for the n "inside story" in washington. i'm ray suarez. been >> the treatment at the water facility is a band-aid just to the patients. the lake is not at healthy as it should be. >> correspondent lori jane gliha discovers there's more to it. an in depth report on what poisoned the water and why the risk is likely to spread. also tonight the guns stay silent in gaza. questions about its future.