Same-sex parents in Thailand are still facing legal discrimination despite the country recently legalizing same-sex marriage. Thai law still defines parenthood as being between a man and a woman, and one couple explains the uncertainty that legal definition brings to their rainbow family.
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00:00Enjoying a peaceful afternoon in Bangkok, spouses Jacob and Gung, and their son Elijah.
00:10A multinational modern family living in one of Asia's most socially progressive countries.
00:20But even here in Thailand, now the third country in the region to legalize same-sex marriage,
00:26plus people looking to start families, still face hurdles that heterosexual couples do not.
00:32Jacob, originally from the States, married Gung in 2023. Their son was born soon after
00:39through a surrogate from Colombia. But despite both fathers' names appearing on Elijah's US
00:44birth certificate, back in Thailand, it's a different story.
00:49Within the first 30 minutes after he was born, he was there holding him. And so he's his parent
01:00through and through just as much as I am. But when we arrive to Thailand,
01:06legally, they are strangers. Legally, they have no connection.
01:13And Gung's lack of a legal connection to his son comes with real-life consequences.
01:19If tomorrow, God forbid, something did happen to me,
01:25we have real concerns what then happens between Gung and our son under the eyes of the Thai law.
01:33And without Gung recognized as his legal parent, little Elijah must reside in his father's home
01:39country on a tourist visa. It's an inequality the couple hopes lawmakers can fix soon.
01:46We want these people to see that we can have a normal functioning family, just like everybody
01:53else. Though Thailand has legalized same-sex marriage, the legislation stops short of
01:58granting LGBTQ plus couples full parental rights, because according to the law,
02:04parenthood is still defined as being between a female mother and a male father.
02:09The concept of the family itself is established on the idea of a man and woman getting married,
02:16and then through the reproductive health, carry a child, bear a child. That's why we need to
02:23continue campaigning for what it means to open up fully for LGBTQI couples when it comes to their
02:32rights to find a family. So as thousands of same-sex couples in Thailand begin tying the knot,
02:39rights groups will be celebrating too, but also urging people to remember
02:44that for couples like Jacob and Gung, the fight for full equality is far from over.
02:49Howard Cheung and Rhys Ayres for Taiwan Plus.