'No parent wants a son with a disability': Gammy's father reveals they would have TERMINATED the embryo had they tested for Down syndrome sooner



David Farnell would have terminated Gammy if he'd known sooner about the Down syndrome



Parents say they dress Gammy's twin sister Pipah in blue to remember their little girl's brother

Couple vows to return to Thailand for Gammy once they're assure their daughter is 'safe'



They say they never agreed for birth mother Pattaramon Chanbua mother to care for Gammy

They also reject claims that they treated twin Pipah more favourably



Mr Farnell said his sexual urges which led him to be convicted of child sex offences have '100 percent stopped'

Funds raised for Gammy will go towards and apartment for his surrogate family



In a revealing interview which aired on 60 Minutes on Australia's Nine Network on Sunday night, the biological father of baby Gammy has revealed he would have terminated the embryo had he discovered the child's Down syndrome sooner, saying: 'No parent wants a son with a disability'.

David Farnell also told of how his wife Wendy sometimes dresses their daughter Pipah, Gammy's twin, in blue 'remember the little boy', and said his previous urges which saw him convicted for child sex offences have '100 percent stopped'.



The West Australian couple David and Wendy Farnell reportedly abandoned Gammy in Thailand when they discovered his disability and left him with his surrogate mother, 21-year-old Pattaramon Chanbua.

Speaking of the news that baby Gammy had Down Syndrome, Mr Farnell admitted: 'If it would have been safe for the embryo to have been terminated, we probably would have terminated it.'



Scroll down for video



David Farnell admitted if it 'would have been safe' they would have terminated the embryo if they knew about Gammy's disability earlier on in the pregnancy The couple revealed that Wendy Farnell sometimes dresses Gammy's twin sister Pipah in blue to 'remember the little boy' 'It was late into the pregnancy that we learned the boy had Downs,' said Mr Farnell, through his tears. 'They sent us the reports but they didn’t do the checks early enough.'

If it would have been safe for the embryo to be terminated he and his wife would have terminated it, he admitted because he did not think any parents wanted a son with a disability.

'Parents want their children to be healthy. Did you abandon him?' the couple were asked. 'No, we never abandoned him. We never said to the surrogate mother to have an abortion. There is always hope.' RELATED ARTICLES Previous

1

Next Australian mum ‘is not Gammy’s biological mother’: Down... Share this article Share Mr Farnell denied media reports that he and his wife asked surrogate Ms Pattaramon to abort the boy and said they wanted to take Gammy with them. 'It's been very stressing. We miss our little boy. I come home from work some days and Wendy has dressed our little girl (Gammy's twin sister Pipah) all in blue because she wants to remember the little boy.' 'We said we want both babies to be born and we will think about this,' he said. The Farnells also vowed to return to Thailand for Gammy once they know their daughter is 'safe'. 'When we know she is 100 per cent safe with us, then we can go and get our boy back,' Mr Farnell said.

The couple spoke of their heartbreak at leaving Gammy behind in Thailand, despite admitting they had not sought help from authorities An emotional David Farnell said he and wife Wendy had no choice but to leave baby Gammy back in Thailand

The Farnells admitted they have not made contact with Gammy's surrogate mother to check on the well-being of their son since they left Thailand Mr Farnell also denied Ms Chanbua's claims that they neglected Gammy and gave favourable treatment to Pipah. 'We bought milk for both babies, we bought nappies for both babies,' Mr Farnell said. In the interview Mr Farnell also aired detail of his dark past which saw him convicted on a number of child sex offences with girls as young as five. When asked what right he had to a young child as a convicted paedophile, Mr Farnell said he was completely rehabilitated by the prison counselling programs and no longer felt any urges. 'They have 100 percent stopped. I don't have the urge to do anything anymore', he said.

'Seeing my children and thinking if somebody did that to my children I would be devastated.' His wife Wendy supported him, and said she believes their daughter will be completely safe with him. The Farnells admitted they have not made contact with Gammy's surrogate mother to check on the well-being of their son since they left Thailand, nor reached out to authorities for help.

Both have come under intense media scrutiny since the scandal broke, and were been hiding inside their Western Australia home all week while reporters camped on their door step. David and Wendy Farnell did not shower or turn on the computer to ensure no one found out that they were hidden inside.

Mr Farnell also spoke of his past as a convicted child sex offender and said his sexual urges had '100 percent stopped' and his daughter would be safe Thai surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, says the Farnells did not want Gammy and told her to have an abortion, when they discovered he had Down syndrome

The couple have been sought by the Western Australian Department of Child Protection, who wish to assess the Farnells suitability as parents since it was revealed that David Farnell, 56, is a convicted paedophile. The Farnells also refused to come to the door when the RSPCA took the family dog away, believing the couple had left their home and abandoned their pet. The couple say they fed their dog everyday before it was taken away on Tuesday. It is understood the Farnells have contacted the department this week.

The Australian parents of baby Gammy left their home at midnight on Wednesday. On Thursday night, they filmed the interview with 60 Minutes, pleading with Australians to 'hear their side of the story before passing judgment on them'. 60 Minutes will make a donation to the charity Hands Across The Water, but the couple were not paid for the interview.



The couple spoke to 60 Minutes in a revealing interview on Sunday evening, as they told 'their side of the story' Critics of the couple are angry that they left Gammy behind with his surrogate mother because he had Down's syndrome Hands Across The Water have already raised more than $240,000 for Gammy's treatment and care. They will support Gammy until he has completed his education. The donations will also help fund a new home for his surrogate mother and her family, The Daily Telegraph report, after concerns were raised about his current living conditions, which have seen him living in a tiny single-room apartment. Founder of Hands Across The Water Peter Gaines said the charity are responding to Gammy's immediate needs by finding his family a new place to live.

In the late 1990s, Farnell was convicted of 22 child sex offences, committed while he was in his 20s, including one against a girl who was just seven. The sentencing judge said the victims had been 'robbed of their childhood'.

Farnell was sentenced to three years jail in 1997 for sexually molesting two girls in 'secretive meetings' in his shed or house, in 1982 and 1983, when the girls were aged seven and 10.

It was not until the women were adults that they made complaints and court documents said the women had suffered 'depression' and 'difficulty forming relationships' as a result of the abuse.

Meanwhile Gammy's surrogate mother, Pattaramon Chanbua, declined to give an interview with the program, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

'I don't want money from them,' she said. 'I don't need their help.'

David Farnell, 56, was convicted of 22 counts of child sex offences in the late 1990s Chanbua smothered him with kisses while he was in hospital getting treatment for a lung infection The couple's interview came just days after one of Mr Farnell's adult children – a son from his previous marriage – spoke out in defence of his father, saying that the family had not been able to tell their side of the story for legal reasons. 'He's taken 10 years to get his life back on track and he did and he has done so well and this, this has been shattering,' the unnamed son told the Sydney Morning Herald . Ms Pattaramon claims the Farnells, from Bunbury in Western Australia, did not want seven-month-old baby Gammy when they found out he had Down syndrome and took only his twin sister. The Farnells initially claimed their daughter, whom they admitted was the same age as Gammy and had been born through a Thai surrogate, did not have a twin brother. They later said they had known about the twin, but were told he only had a day to live and should say their goodbyes to the baby before they left the country, due to civil unrest.

The couple wanted to make it known that they have been cooperating with the Department of Child Protection since Wednesday morning and will continue to cooperate with them. They also said that they had been feeding their dog every day until the RSPCA took her away on Wednesday morning.