Redefining What A Modern Family Means in Thailand [S7.E56]

Continuing the exploration of some of the unexpectedly
progressive moves that Thailand makes from time to time, Greg
interviews his friend Jacob, an American, and his husband Geng, a
Thai, about their marriage in Thailand as two men and their
efforts to build a family through surrogacy. The couple begins by
relating how they met and began dating, and Jacob adds that even
at that stage he was looking into becoming a single father
through some type of surrogacy. Luckily Geng was on board, and
they began researching different clinics worldwide. They settled
on a clinic in Colombia that they felt was very professional and
transparent. 


With a baby (the genetic son of Jacob) on the way, they decided
to make their relationship legal, but at that time, same-sex
marriages were still unrecognized in Thailand. Hence, they chose
an online marriage in the U.S. state of Nevada. Now legal, they
were then able to take their Colombian-born son back to Thailand.
While there were no problems actually entering Thailand, their
son was only recognized as an American tourist, with no legal
connection to Geng. 


The guys then explain that they plan to repeat the process with a
genetic child of Geng, so they eventually hope to have two
children. The next step then will be having their marriage
legalized in Thailand, and finally they hope to secure the legal
status of their children. 


Whew! Talk about pushing the boundaries of a 'conservative
Buddhist' country.


Don't forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of
the show as well as swag and other perks. We also sometimes post
on Facebook, you can contact us on LINE and of course, head to
our website (www.bangkokpodcast.com) to find out probably more
info than you need to know.