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		</div><p>A same-sex American-Spanish couple have won a high-profile custody fight against a Thai surrogate mother who decided she wanted to keep the baby when she found out they were gay.</p>
<p>Bangkok&#8217;s Juvenile and Family Court ruled that the legal guardian of the child, named Carmen, is the girl&#8217;s American biological father, Gordon Lake, his lawyer Rachapol Sirikulchit said.</p>
<p>Mr Lake and his partner, Spaniard Manuel Santos, both 41, have been stuck in Thailand since launching their legal battle after Carmen was born in January 2015.</p>
<p>Mr Santos emerged from the court smiling and with tears in his eyes.</p>
<p>He told reporters: &#8220;We won. We are really happy&#8230; This nightmare is going to end soon.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;After 15 months, Carmen will fly to Spain,&#8221; where the couple lives, Mr Santos added.</p>
<p>The case was seen as complicated by the fact that Thai law does not recognise same-sex marriages and also by a new law that bans commercial surrogacy, which took effect after Carmen&#8217;s birth.</p>
<p>When Carmen was born, Thai surrogate Patidta Kusolsang handed over the baby to Mr Lake and Mr Santos, who left the hospital with the infant.</p>
<p>However, they said the mother then changed her mind and refused to sign the documents to allow Carmen to get a passport so they could leave Thailand.</p>
<p>Mr Lake, who is from New Jersey, is Carmen&#8217;s biological father, while the egg came from an anonymous donor.</p>
<p>The couple were told the surrogate mother had thought they were an &#8220;ordinary family and that she worried for Carmen&#8217;s upbringing&#8221;, according to a message Mr Lake posted on a crowdfunding site that has raised US$36,000 to help cover the costs of the trial and staying in Thailand.</p>
<p>Mr Lake has said he does not know why the surrogate claims she did not realise he was gay.</p>
<p>He said he was clear about that from the start with their surrogacy agency, New Life, which has branches in several countries.</p>
<p>The Bangkok-based New Life office has closed since commercial surrogacy was outlawed in Thailand in July 2015, following several high-profile scandals.</p>
<p>There was a grace period provided for parents whose babies were already on the way.</p>
<p>Carmen has lived with the couple since her birth.</p>
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