4 surrogate-born babies airlifted to Israel from Nepal

Four babies born to surrogate mothers in Kathmandu were making their way to Israel aboard a Turkish Airlines flight Thursday after they had been evacuated from Nepal by members of Magen David Adom emergency services following an earthquake that shook the Asian country Tuesday.

Citing harsh conditions in the Himalayan country and the newborns’ fragile state, Israeli parents of the babies who were located in a Kathmandu field hospital appealed to the Israeli government to help bring their children to Israel as quickly as possible.

Israel’s ambassador to Nepal, Yaron Meir, said in a statement Tuesday evening that the embassy in Kathmandu was helping the stranded parents and their newborns reach home.

The 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the Chinese border between the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu and Mount Everest early Tuesday afternoon, 17 days after a powerful earthquake left more than 8,000 people dead in the country.

The quake also brought fresh terror to a traumatized Nepal around noon on Tuesday as buildings already damaged in the monster quake last month came tumbling down.

After that quake, Israel airlifted 26 newborn babies born to surrogate mothers in Nepal.

Nepal has become a destination for people seeking to have children through surrogate mothers, though the practice is controversial, with critics saying it exploits the poverty-stricken women.

Under Israeli law, only heterosexual couples can legally have children through surrogate mothers; this leads some homosexual couples and single people to seek help overseas.

Nepal allows surrogacy practices within its borders for foreigners, but prohibits Nepalese women from being surrogate mothers.

The airlifting of the Israeli parents and newborns, as well as a number of late-term surrogate mothers late last month, brought fresh calls for the state to reform its policies on the system.

Tamar Pileggi and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.