( CNN ) -- What was supposed to be a straightforward cash deal to carry a child for desperate parents has turned into an international spat over who said what , and exposed the darker side of a business credited with creating happiness for many couples . At the center of the debate is Gammy , a seven-month-old Down Syndrome baby with a congenital heart condition who is currently receiving treatment for a lung infection at a private hospital in Thailand . For days , Gammy 's surrogate mother , 21-year-old Thai food stall worker Pattharamon Chanbua , has been telling local and foreign press that the couple abandoned their son , taking home his healthy sister . After initially denying they knew about baby Gammy , a friend of the couple issued a statement to a local Australian newspaper saying the pair only left Gammy because they were told he was likely to die . `` Gammy was very sick when he was born and the biological parents were told he would not survive and he had a day , at best , to live and to say goodbye , '' the unnamed friend told the Bunbury Mail , in Western Australia , where the couple live . Fear and lies . The friend said the surrogate mother gave birth at a different hospital to the one agreed upon , which made the surrogacy agreement void . The couple was scared , she said , that Pattharamon would change her mind about the second child , and they 'd have to leave Thailand with no children at all . According to the report , the friend noted that the backdrop to the surrogacy row was a military coup in the country and `` it was very difficult to get around . '' The takeover took place in the early hours of May 22 , 2014 when Commander of the Royal Thai Army General Prayuth Chan-chua announced in a national broadcast he was now in charge . `` This has been absolutely devastating for them , they are on the edge , '' the friend added , referring to the days of media scrutiny and debate over their decision , months after they returned home . Pattharamon claimed the couple asked her to terminate the Down Syndrome child when she was seven months pregnant . Not true , the couple 's friend said . After the babies ' birth , Pattharamon claimed they bought nappies and milk for the baby girl , but `` did n't even look at the boy . '' Also a lie , the friend added . Whatever the details of who said what , the case has attracted attention to a largely unregulated industry subject to a confusing tangle of laws and loopholes . Surrogate 'is legal parent ' In the state of Western Australia , where the couple is from , it 's legal to seek surrogacy abroad . There are no checks for criminal history , and no counseling is required for couples seeking offshore surrogacy , said Jenni Millbank , an expert in Australian surrogacy law from the University of Technology in Sydney . `` If surrogacy were taken onshore there would be counseling protocols prior to conception , as well as a welfare report after birth required before legal parentage is transferred ; but these are not steps that occur with offshore surrogacy , '' said Millbank . She said the surrogate mother is the legal parent regardless of whose egg was used . The rights of the genetic father are also `` uncertain '' as `` different judges have taken varied approaches , '' she said . Australian authorities are looking into the case , as are Thai authorities , who had already announced a crackdown on the industry amid claims rules were being flouted . Pattharamon said she agreed to be paid 300,000 baht ( $ 9,300 ) for carrying the couple 's babies , money she needed to help care for her own two children , aged six and three . After she voiced concerns about how she was going to pay for Gammy 's care , funds started flowing to an online campaign , which to date has raised more than $ 237,000 ( US $ 220,000 ) . Could baby girl be returned ? Pattharamon said she 's prepared to take the baby girl back if the Australian couple is are `` not ready '' to take care of her . She said she does n't intend to pursue legal action against the parents , though Millbank says she could apply to the Family Court of Australia to have the child returned . `` The Family Court of Australia has jurisdiction over anyone who has an interest in the care , welfare and a development of a child so ( the intending parents ) could still make their case and argue for the baby to live with them , '' Millbank said . `` The court would examine the competitive proposals of the parties , probably appoint an independent children 's lawyer and do a welfare assessment of the child 's needs and then make a decision . '' The Australian courts have only ever heard one case involving a child born via surrogacy , Millbank said . It involved a child called `` Evelyn '' whose birth was the result of an agreement between friends that went wrong . `` That was in the 1980s and they ended up removing the child from the family that had been raising her and taking her to the other family , '' Millbank said . `` It was an altruistic arrangement where the birth mother changed her mind about seven months later . And she ultimately won . She got the child back . ''
Australian couple say they were told male twin , Gammy , would die . Boy is now seven months old and in the care of his Thai surrogate mother . Couple said they were scared the surrogate would change her mind about the girl . Surrogate accused couple of abandoning Down Syndrome boy in favor of healthy sister .