BANGKOK: The Thai surrogate mother of baby Gammy says Wendy Farnell, the Chinese-born Australian woman portrayed as the child’s biological mother, did not supply the egg that was implanted in her before she fell pregnant.
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As a war of words erupted after David and Wendy Farnell broke their silence on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes, Pattharamon Janbua told Fairfax Media the egg came from a Thai woman through a surrogacy agency.
“Yes, the sperm came from [Mr Farnell] but the egg did not belong to the Chinese woman,” she said.
“They are not really related with the baby…I am not really sure they will give real love to Gammy’s sister.”
Ms Pattharamon is angry with Mr and Mrs Farnell over the 60 Minutes interview, saying “if they want to take Gammy to Australia I will be very upset.”
Under Thai law Ms Pattharamon, who is called Goy, is the lawful mother of six-month old Gammy who was born weeks premature with Down Syndrome and a heart condition.
Ms Pattharamon’s grandmother, who did not want her name published, said she was angry when Mr and Mrs Farnell asked Goy to have an abortion seven months into the pregnancy.
“I was angry and told Goy her to tell the police if they forced her to kill her unborn baby,” the grandmother said
Abortions are largely unacceptable in Thai Buddhist society.
Ms Pattharamon said she held back revealing that Ms Farnell was not the biological mother “because I didn’t want to hurt people.”
She added: “But when the pressure is too great I will come out to fight for my family.”
Mr Farnell, a 56 year-old convicted child sex offender, claimed in the 60 Minutes interview he and Wendy wanted to bring Gammy with them to Australia.
“I know it sounds very, very heartless, but I never meant to hurt anybody, like I can’t really explain. I can’t really put it in words. We never said ‘you can have this baby,’” he said.
Mr Farnell claimed Ms Pattharamon said: “if we try to take our little boy, she’s going to get the police and she’s going to come and take our little girl…and she’s going to keep both babies.”
Mr Farnell said: “It’s been very stressing. We miss our little boy. I come home from work some days and Wendy has dressed our little girl all in blue, because she still wants to remember the little boy.”
Mr Farnell wept as he said “we had to try and get out of there [Bangkok] as fast as we could.”
But political protests in Bangkok were not affecting foreigners or medical services when Mr and Mrs Farnell took Pipah to Australia early this year.
The only foreigners caught up in the unrest were those who ignored warnings and went to streets demonstrations.
Ms Pattharamon said she will reject Channel Nine’s offer of an undisclosed amount of money in return for the Farnells giving the interview on 60 Minutes.
“I want to pass on a message to that couple…I don’t need your sympathy or money,” said Ms Pattharamon, a street food vendor in her village 90 kilometres south of Bangkok.
“Don’t try to pretend to feel sorry for me and want to help out now. Where were you when I needed help?,” she said.
A campaign to raise money to pay Gammy’s medical costs and long term care raised more than $240,000 after Fairfax Media broke the story of the baby’s plight.
Gammy is being treated for a lung infection and heart condition in a hospital in Chonburi province.
Doctors hope he will avoid surgery.