Adoption: In Related News 


3 Mexican doctors accused of selling newborns

Three doctors and a nurse have been arrested for allegedly selling newborns after telling mothers their babies had died at a private hospital in Mexico City, authorities said Wednesday.

Alleged child trafficking ring smashed in China

Nineteen boys and 33 girls were bought from impoverished rural families in Shanxi and Hebei provinces in the past two years, Xinhua news agency said.

China nabs 42 for baby trafficking

Chinese police have arrested 42 alleged members of a trafficking ring that sold dozens of infants stolen or bought from their rural parents, state media reported Friday.

Burned by a baby broker

Three cribs stand empty in the unused bedroom of Suann Hibbs' Edina home, and the closet is full of unworn baby clothes. Sad reminders, Hibbs says, of her broken dream of bringing home three orphans from Guatemala to raise as her daughters.

Graphic: Where Americans adopt children abroad

Graphic: Minnesota leads in foreign adoptions

Graphic: International adoptions decline

Adoption treaty sets up double standard in U.S.

System meant to protect parents and children doesn't bar unaccredited agencies from doing international adoptions.

Notice for Guatemala “hogar” adoption cases

In Guatemala, a number of private child care facilities or “hogares” have traditionally provided care for children. Some of these hogars were closely associated with the intercountry adoption process and provided care specifically for children awaiting adoption. Allegations of adoption irregularities have prompted Guatemalan officials to conduct a wide-ranging investigation that has included many of these facilities.

Officials found guilty in illegal adoption trial

Sixteen former medical and orphanage officials were found guilty September 28 at Nam Dinh Province People’s Court on charges of forging documents and receiving bribes from foreigners to adopt 266 children. 

Six officials jailed in Nam Dinh adoption scam

Six health and charity officials in northern Nam Dinh Province involved in an adoption scam were sentenced Monday to jail terms of two to four and a half years. 

Adoption Notice: Nepal

Update on changes pertaining to intercountry adoptions from Nepal, from the U.S. Department of State. 

Dutch agency stops adoption from Ethiopia pending investigation

(UAI News)—A large adoption agency in the Netherlands, Wereldkinderen, has temporarily stopped adoptions from Ethiopia as a result of recent reports about abuse of the system by the government in Ethiopia and local adoption agencies.

Research done by the adoption agency, shows that the information about the children on file does not match with their actual back ground. In several cases the mothers of the children were still alive, while being listed as deceased.

Alert: Korea intends to halt International Adoption at the end of 2012

PEAR urges prospective adoptive parents considering adopting from Korea to ask their agency or possible agency about how the closing of the international adoption process will work and how this will effect non-special needs referrals and special needs referrals from now until closing. The newsletter includes links to sources. 

Vietnamese doctors 'sold' babies for overseas adoptions

Sixteen Vietnamese doctors, nurses and officials sold 266 babies for overseas adoptions, a court heard on Tuesday.  The defendants from a number of clinics and social welfare centres in the northern province of Nam Dinh allegedly solicited the infants from unmarried mothers and impoverished families. To make the children eligible for adoption, and the process legal, they ring forged documents so it appeared the children had been abandoned at village clinics, it was claimed. 

Chinese babies stolen by officials for foreign adoption

In some rural areas, instead of levying fines for violations of China's child policies, greedy officials took babies, which would each fetch $3,000 in adoption fees. Photos: "Chinese parents tell of abducted children."

A young Chinese girl pines for her twin 

Nine-year-old Zeng Shangjie asks her mother when she can see her twin sister, taken away by family planning officials. Shangjie and her mother believe the twin is in the United States.

Graphic: Chinese adoptions

Nearly 61,000 children from mainland China have been adopted by Americans since the late 1990s.

Adopted teen finds answers, mystery in China

Christian Norris of Easton, Md., remembers little of his pre-U.S. life. A reunion at a Beijing hotel helps fill in some of the gaps. Photos: Reunited in Beijing.

Call for Papers: The Many Faces of Adoption in Today's World

Third International Conference on adoption Research (ICAR3) 11th–15th July, 2010
A multi-disciplinary conference aiming to bring together the worldwide community of distinguished and emerging adoption researchers

Ethiopia: Fly Away Children

Since Angelina Jolie adopted her daughter Zahara in 2005, the number of Americans adopting Ethiopian children has quadrupled.

A pop-media obsession with celebrities adopting children in Africa has resulted in a queue of adopting foreigners dealing with opportunistic adoption agents in operating in a regulatory vacuum. In Ethiopia—and beyond—its creating a heartbreaking mess.

Guatemalan army stole children for adoption, report says

(CNN) The Guatemalan army stole at least 333 children and sold them for adoption in other countries during the Central American nation's 36-year civil war, a government report has concluded. 

International Adoption and the Fight for Human Rights (editorial)

Saving children from starvation and death will always make news headlines. In the case of adoption, especially intercountry adoption, this is far from the reality most of the time. What once was presented as a last resort for children without parents has become a global enterprise where children seemingly are sold to the highest bidder under the supervision and agreement of involved nations. 

On international adoption of Ethiopian children

Just after the final draft of this article, I asked myself ‘what would be the reaction of a foreigner, ferenji, or adoptive parents to this article?’; and I decided to send the final draft to one of my closest ferenjis and asked her to read the article from ‘a ferenji’ prism. Read her reaction and the article  here>

Family reunited following adoption scam

A tearful reunion in Samoa has brought together two families unwittingly caught up in an adoption scam.

CC rechaza impugnación a Ley de Adopciones (Guatemala Constitutional Court rejects challenge to Law of Adoptions)

La Corte de Constitucionalidad falló en contra de las acciones de inconstitucionalidad planteadas a la Ley de Adopciones promovidas por un grupo de abogados, quienes buscaban anular la patria potestad de los padres luego de la adopción y declarar toda la norma en contra de la ley fundamental.

Adoption scammer hears from his victims

Orson Mozes sat apparently unfazed in a Santa Barbara courtroom during a sentencing hearing yesterday, listening to the words of the victims he swindled out of roughly $800,000 through his adoption business.

“Manufacturing” Abandoned Infants in China

Western readers unfortunately were only given abbreviated and redacted versions of the original news story, “Manufacturing” Abandoned Infants", that appeared July 1, 2009 in the Guangdong Newspaper "Southern Metropolis News." Research-China.Org has decided to present an English translation for interested readers. One will find the original story more detailed and compelling than later recountings. More>

Defendants in Samoan adoption case must pay $100,000 to trust fund

A federal judge in Utah has ordered five operators and employees of the now-defunct Focus on Children adoption agency to contribute $100,000 to a trust fund that would allow Samoan children adopted by U.S. parents to connect with their birth families.

A Dad's Adoption Nightmare 

Standing with his video camera at the Auckland, New Zealand, airport in February 2004, Mike Nyberg watched the adoption agency worker lead in a saucer-eyed 4-year-old wearing a dirty blue dress and clutching a rubber ball. She was crying... and repeated a single word: "Tupu," he later learned referred to the girl's mother. 

Adoption scammer pleads guilty 

Orson Mozes, a former Montecito businessman who swindled $800,000 from 59 hopeful parents through his adoption business, pleaded guilty in Superior Court yesterday to 17 felonies and a white-collar crime enhancement.

China Checks Out Charges Babies Taken From Home

Authorities in southern China are investigating allegations that local officials took babies from their parents between 2003 and 2005 and delivered them to an orphanage that press reports said has offered children for overseas adoption.

China babies 'sold for adoption'
Dozens of baby girls in southern China have reportedly been taken from parents who broke family-planning laws, and then sold for adoption overseas.  
U.S. Department of State Adoption Notice for Vietnam 

U.S. citizens cannot register a new adoption in Vietnam at this time.  The Government of Vietnam has stated its intention to introduce new adoption legislation and to institute reforms in the adoption process, and has indicated that the anticipated new legislation and implementing regulations may take effect in 2011. 

Stolen Babies

A Guatemala government investigation into some 3,000 pending adoption cases found fraudulent paperwork in more than 1,000 instances. There is strong evidence that in many cases babies had been stolen before being traded for adoption. Guatemalan mothers whose babies were snatched in this way are convinced that their children are in the U.S. and now they want them back... 

Vietnam jails 3 for child trafficking

A court in northern Vietnam sentenced three people to prison for trafficking children in a scheme that sold babies to a welfare center, an official said Friday...

CELEBRITIES/ Are international adoptions the best way to help children?

Madonna has won a Malawi higher court appeal to adopt a three-year-old girl, the second child she is adopting from that country. The child's father, James Kambewa, is disputing the adoption, claiming his poverty is impeding justice. A lower court had earlier denied the adoption, citing that Madonna had failed a residency requirement.

Angelina Jolie to Adopt an Armenian Baby?

Angelina Jolie will adopt a baby from Armenia, although her husband, Brad Pitt, prefers adopting an Indian baby, according to reports by several news sources. Few details have surfaced about the adoption, especially since Armenian officials seem to be keeping a tight lip on the matter.

Moratorium on Accepting Applications for Filipino Children

Effective May 1, 2009: Due to the large number of unmatched approved adoption applications of Prospective Adoptive Parents wanting to adopt children within the age range of 0-2 years old with or without medical / developmental concerns coupled with the limited number of children of such category, ICAB has set a moratorium on accepting new applicants wanting to adopt from the above mentioned category.

'Friends for Jayden' at Lakeshore School help with Samoa trip

Funds are being raised to help Jayden Sawyer and her family visit Jayden's birth parents, whom she hasn't seen in almost five years...  

Jayden was adopted by Patti Sawyer of Fond du Lac when Jayden was 4 years old. Her birth parents, Upega and Melei Isaia of Tufulele, Western Samoa, were told by an adoption agency Focus on Children, that their daughter would be educated in the United States and then return to Western Samoa when she was 18 years old. 

Ethiopia: Adoption Alert: Adoptions of Abandoned Children Halted by Ethiopian Court

The Ethiopian First Instance Court has temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing concern over a recent increase in the number of abandoned children being brought for adoption. 

Information for the prospective adoptive parents about the number of the applications the Hungarian Central Authority can accept in 2009

The Hungarian Parliament ratified the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption in 2005. The Hungarian Central Authority has been dealing with intercountry adoptions since October 2005 and according to the three years long experience, the number of the children, their age and health status as well as the high number of the applicants being registered in the international registry the Central Authority determines how many applications they will accept in 2009. 

West Africa: Protecting children from orphan-dealers

ACCRA, 27 May 2009 (IRIN) - The recent rape of an eight-month-old boy in an orphanage in the Ghanaian capital Accra revealed conditions that child rights advocates say are rampant across West African orphanages. When the authorities investigated the incident they discovered 27 of the 32 children living in the home were not orphans. 

Nepali Govt ratifies Hague Convention  

The government of Nepal on Tuesday signed the Hague Convention, an international agreement between participating countries, on the best adoption procedures. The procedures of the convention consider the best interests of children and prevention of abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children. 

Nepal signs Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention

On Tuesday 28 April 2009, the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was signed by H.E. Mr Pramesh Kuman Hamal, Ambassador of Nepal to the Benelux and the European Communities. 

Nine Tots Rescued From Illegal Adoption in Guatemala 

Nine children ranging in age from 1 to 5 were rescued in the southern Guatemalan municipality of Palin, officials said. The children, three girls and six boys, were found at a residence operated by Primavera Association, which had no legal permit to operate in the Palin municipality. The house in which they were found reportedly did not meet standards of hygiene. According to the prosecutor, the children were in the process of being adopted out illegally. No arrests were made during the raid because the babysitter was the only adult found there, he said.

Madonna Malawi Adoption Puts Spotlight on AIDS, Poverty, Orphans, and Pop Stars

I am so grateful to Madonna for her second highly-publicized and controversial adoption from Malawi. Why? It reminds us that there are millions of children living in extreme poverty, in need of help, and opens the debate as to the best way to care for them. More>

Madonna's adoption bids rejected
Madonna told "Leave Malawi orphan alone"

Madonna is facing growing opposition to her plan to adopt another child from Malawi. A spokesperson from Save the Children, who is urging Madonna not to adopt the child, told Sky News, "International adoption can actually exacerbate the problem it hopes to solve." More>

More on this story: Madonna Flies into New Malawi Adoption Row, Madonna Told Not to Adopt Orphan from Malawi, Madonna Set to Adopt Second African Child

Meet the Parents: The Dark Side of Overseas Adoption

A Midwestern kid's family believes his birth parents put him up for adoption. An Indian couple claim he was kidnapped from them and sold. Who's right?

USCIS Announces The Status of Cambodian Adoptions

Intercountry Adoptions Under the Hague Adoptions Convention

Feb. 11, 2009: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today clarified that it continues to be unable to approve any Form I-600, Petition
to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, filed for a child to be adopted from Cambodia. 

US-China adoptions will be processed under Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention 

Jan. 23, 2009: The China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has proposed and the Department of State has agreed that beginning January 1, 2009,all adoption cases between the U.S. and China will be processed by China as Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention cases'.

 Moldova To Temporarily Ban International Adoptions

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin said he plans to temporarily ban the adoption of Moldovan children by foreign couples, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service has reported. 

Defendants in adoption scam involving Samoan children cut no-jail-time plea

Scott and Karen Banks, operators of a Utah-based adoption agency, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanors in a deal that likely will give them probation rather than prison... 

Nepal restarts international adoptions

Nepal has begun accepting applications from foreigners who want to adopt Nepalese children, 18 months after the practice was stopped because of widespread malpractice, officials said Friday…

Orzon Mozes, alleged adoption scammer, is caught in Florida 

Orson Mozes, alleged adoption scammer and “America’s Most Wanted” fugitive, charged with 62 felony counts of “Theft by False Pretense,” is caught in Florida:

A civil lawsuit that 14 families filed against Mozes’s former agency, Adoption International Program (AIP), remains underway: 

Russian Attitudes Colder Toward Foreign Adoptions

While Russia remains a leading source for foreign adoptions, Russian authorities are no longer so willing to send their children out of the country... 

Celebrate Children International under investigation 

Celebrate Children International is under investigation by the state of Florida. The US Department of State had earlier denied this agency accreditation under the Hague Convention regulations... 

© 2008-2009 Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. 02454. All rights reserved.

Last page update: November 9, 2009