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Stolen "Adoption" Baby Reuinited with Mother
A Guatemalan woman whose daughter was taken from her and handed over for adoption has spoken of the challenges at being reunited with her child.
Ana Escobar said spending more than a year apart had badly affected both mother and baby.
DNA tests in Guatemala have proved that Esther Sulamita is Ms Escobar's child, the first proven case of baby theft for adoption in Guatemala.
The pair are now back together and adoptions remain banned in Guatemala. A Guatemalan woman whose daughter was taken from her and handed over for adoption has spoken of the challenges at being reunited with ... more -
Adopted Guatemala baby stolen
Ana Escobar was held at gunpoint in her shop while her baby was stolen
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mother, officials say.
Ana Escobar reported her daughter Esther Sulamita stolen last year and during her search saw the baby with a US woman who was adopting her.
The baby had a false birth certificate but DNA tests proved the parentage and Esther is now back with Ms Escobar.
Baby thefts have long been suspected and Guatemala froze adoptions in May.
Guatemala is second only to China as the source of babies adopted by US parents and the adoption process is worth tens of millions of dollars a year.
Last year, more than 4,700 Guatemalan children were adopted by Americans.
Dozens of Guatemalan mothers have reported stolen babies.
'Miracle'
Ana Escobar said armed men had locked her in a storage closet at the family's shoe shop north of Guatemala City and abducted six-month-old Esther in March last year.
Ms Escobar spoke to the BBC last November, saying the authorities had closed the case but that she would not give up the search.
"I'm 100% sure that we will find my daughter," she said at the time.
Ms Escobar took part in protests with other mothers, including wheeling empty prams in front of government buildings to call for justice.
Ms Escobar searched hospitals and orphanages and while at the National Adoption Council's offices in May saw a toddler she was convinced was Esther.
Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said: "She was so sure that the child was hers that we agreed to search the house where the baby was kept."
A Guatemalan judge allowed Ms Escobar to care for Esther while the new DNA tests were performed.
Ms Escobar told Associated Press news agency on Wednesday: "I can't explain how excited and happy I am. It's a miracle."
Mr Tecu said: "This is the first time that we've been able to show, with irrefutable evidence, that a stolen child was put up for adoption."
He said officials would investigate the lawyers who handled the adoption, the doctor who signed earlier, falsified DNA tests and anyone else associated with the process.
"This was run by a mafia, and we are going after them," he said.
BBC Americas correspondent Warren Bull says hundreds of children were being bought or stolen to order each year because Guatemala's adoption system had been so quick and trouble-free for would-be parents.
The Guatemalan congress tightened laws on adoption in December to try to prevent abuse of the system.
In May the authorities suspended the adoption of some 2,300 children by foreigners and are reviewing each case to check if the babies were genuinely being offered for adoption by their birth mothers.
Ana Escobar was held at gunpoint in her shop while her baby was stolen ... more -
DNA proof that adopted Guatemalan baby was stolen
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mother, officials say.
Ana Escobar reported her daughter Esther Sulamita stolen last year and during her search saw the baby with a US woman who was adopting her.
The baby had a false birth certificate but DNA tests proved the parentage and Esther is now back with Ms Escobar.
Baby thefts have long been suspected and Guatemala froze adoptions in May.
Guatemala is second only to China as the source of babies adopted by US parents and the adoption process is worth tens of millions of dollars a year.
Last year, more than 4,700 Guatemalan children were adopted by Americans.
Dozens of Guatemalan mothers have reported stolen babies.
Ana Escobar said armed men had locked her in a storage closet at the family's shoe shop north of Guatemala City and abducted six-month-old Esther in March last year.
Ms Escobar searched hospitals and orphanages and while at the National Adoption Council's offices in May saw a toddler she was convinced was Esther.
Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said: "She was so sure that the child was hers that we agreed to search the house where the baby was kept."
Ms Escobar told Associated Press news agency on Wednesday: "I can't explain how excited and happy I am. It's a miracle."
Mr Tecu said: "This is the first time that we've been able to show, with irrefutable evidence, that a stolen child was put up for adoption."
He said officials would investigate the lawyers who handled the adoption, the doctor who signed earlier, falsified DNA tests and anyone else associated with the process.
"This was run by a mafia, and we are going after them," he said.
In May the authorities suspended the adoption of some 2,300 children by foreigners and are reviewing each case to check if the babies were genuinely being offered for adoption by their birth mothers.
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Is this shocking evidence that some people will do anything for a baby, or anything for money? Will all of Guatemala's adopted babies now have to be tested to see if they were stolen instead of legally given up for adoption? If you were a child who had been stolen from your birth parents but had grown up in a new family what would you do?
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mo... more -
Sweet 16 turned bitter...
From Mary Scott Speigner
CNN's American Morning
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Allie Mulvihill may seem like your typical American teenager, but she has something weighing on her mind that most 15-year-olds do not: deportation.
1 of 2 Allie may be forced to leave the country because U.S. immigration officials are questioning the legitimacy of the Guatemala native's adoption by her parents, Lori and Scott Mulvihill, in 1994.
When the Mulvihills brought their then 2-year-old daughter to their home in Allentown, Pennsylvania, they believed she would be granted citizenship.
But U.S. immigration officials questioned whether the woman who gave Allie up for adoption in Guatemala was really her biological mother. Allie's birth certificate was issued 10 months after she was born, which raised suspicions in U.S. officials' minds that she was made available for adoption due to a baby trafficking scheme.
The Mulvihills, however, say it is not uncommon for birth certificates to be issued for children months after they are born in Guatemala, especially for children born to poor families, because families must pay for the certificates.
The Mulvihills also say U.S. embassy officials in Guatemala interviewed the woman claiming to be her biological mother at the time of the adoption and did not raise any concerns. The embassy officials, however, did not conduct a blood test of the woman that would have definitely proven the woman had given birth to Allie.
The Guatemalan government also never challenged the adoption, the Mulvihills said.
But U.S. immigration officials still aren't satisfied, and the dispute over her adoption has become a roadblock on Allie's path to citizenship. Neither Allie nor her parents have a way to track down her biological mother and the adoption agency used by the Mulvihills to adopt their daughter has gone out of business.
The fact that she cannot get her immigration status resolved means the fear of deportation continues to loom.
More on CNN.com
CNN's Zain Verjee and Melissa Morgenweck contributed to this report.
© 2008 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
So... why should they deport her if there's no way to tell if she's adopted through trafficking?
A change in the process should be made for situations like these... From Mary Scott Speigner CNN's American Morning ... more -
Judge Hints at Harsh Sentence in Adoption Fraud Case
Judith Leekin adopted 11 children in New York City under four different names, and moved with them a decade ago to Florida. There, she is accused of abusing them — charges she is fighting — but she pleaded guilty in May to a fraudulent adoption scheme that netted her $1.68 million in government subsidies, money that prosecutors say she used to support a lavish lifestyle.
On Tuesday, she will stand before a federal judge in Manhattan and learn her sentence. But what could be a cut-and-dried session promises to be something more: Ms. Leekin has drawn unusually harsh criticism from public officials and the children’s lawyers, who are calling attention to the accusations of abuse in Florida, and the judge determining her fate has not only asked how the system could have prevented her fraud, but has let both sides know that he may give her a harsher sentence than prosecutors and defense lawyers have proposed.
Rose Gill Hearn, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, wrote the judge last week to say that her office, which had interviewed some of the children, “has never seen a case like the Leekin case.”
“To hear each describe the years of abuse and neglect that they endured was utterly heartbreaking,” Ms. Gill Hearn wrote.
“Many of the children had few teeth from never having seen a dentist. Most bore physical scars from Leekin’s brutality. None could read or write, their vocabulary garnered from the little television that Leekin allowed the children to watch.”
Ms. Leekin, 63, faces 10 counts of aggravated child abuse and other charges in Florida. The authorities say the children, who were mentally or physically disabled when adopted and are now mostly young adults, were not adequately fed, were kept restrained with plastic ties, were victims of physical violence and were kept away from school. She is contesting those charges.
When she pleaded guilty in May to the fraud scheme in New York, she admitted that she lied to child welfare officials about the number of children she actually had, and the conditions in which they were living.
The judge who is to rule on Tuesday, Richard M. Berman of United States District Court, took the unusual step last week of announcing that he was considering imposing a longer sentence than Ms. Leekin’s lawyers and prosecutors proposed when she pleaded guilty. In that deal, both sides agreed that a sentence of 6 ½ to 8 years would be reasonable. The judge has the power to sentence her to up to 20 years for each of two counts.
---article continues, click link to read--- Judith Leekin adopted 11 children in New York City under four different names, and moved with them a decade ago to Florida. There, she... more -
McCain: Gay adoption is not normal
Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain denounced adoption for same-sex couples this weekend in an interview with The New York Times. McCain, who with his wife, Cindy, has an adopted child, has aligned himself with President Bush, who vehemently opposes adoption rights for gays.
“I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family, so, no, I don’t believe in gay adoption,” he said in the article. "I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children. I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents."
Jody M. Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, came out against McCain's views. "Love makes a family, but short-sighted positions like Senator McCain's can certainly tear families apart too," she said in a statement.
Kara Suffrendi, director of the Family Equality Council's public policy division, asserted that more than 75% of American homes don't follow the traditional married, heterosexual hierarchy. "We are a nation of blended and multigenerational families, adoptive and foster families, and families headed by single parents, divorced parents, unmarried parents, same-sex couples and more," she said in a statement. "This is what is true about lesbians and gays raising children: 30 years of scientifically valid research universally demonstrates that LGBT families are just as nurturing for children's growth and development as heterosexual families."
About 130,000 children live in the foster care system in any given year awaiting a permanent home, according to the Center for American Progress Action Fund. A joint study by the Urban Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles's Williams Institute shows that an estimated 14,000 adopted children in the United Statea are living with gay or lesbian parents. A national ban on such adoptions could cost the foster care system up to $130 million, placing the burden on states to foot a bill anywhere between $100,000 and $27 million, according to the report.
(The Advocate) Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain denounced adoption for same-sex couples this weekend in an interview with Th... more -
We Are Not Born Gay, Sweedish Twin study Shows
Identical twins develop when one fertilized egg separates into two individuals. As such, identical twins have nearly identical DNA. Researchers study the concordance of a trait in identical twins to see whether or not a trait is genetically-linked. In a concordant pair of twins, both show the same characteristic.
Twin studies that have been conducted to date actually demonstrate that homosexuality is not genetic. As Dr. Neil Whitehead notes, “In a nutshell, if you take pairs of identical twins in which one twin is homosexual, the identical co-twin is usually not homosexual. That means, given that identical twins are always genetically identical, homosexuality cannot be genetically dictated. No-one is born gay
In general, twin studies show that when one male identical twin is gay-identified, the other will be gay-identified one time in nine, or only 11% of the time. The percentages are similar for female homosexuality. If homosexual behavior, attractions and identity were completely genetic, the similarity would be closer to 100%. What this tells us is that same-sex attracted twins are not born that way. Thus, within a pair of identical twins – where one twin has same-sex attractions – the other will have opposite-sex attractions eight out of nine times.
So what about this 2008 Swedish twin study ?
The study of twins and homosexuality was touted in a press release as “the largest in the world so far.” The authors said that “more than 7,600 Swedish twins….responded to a 2005-2006 survey of health, behaviour, and sexuality.” I
In their analysis:
Only 7 pairs of male identical twins were found where both had any same-sex partner in their lifetime;
Only 26 pairs of female identical twins were found where both had any same-sex partner in their lifetime;
Only 64 pairs of identical male twins were found where only 1 of the pair had any same-sex partners;
And only 188 pairs of identical female twins were found where only 1 of the pair had any same-sex partners. (10)
Significantly, their data show a very low number of identical twin pairs who had both engaged in same-sex behaviors. The data also show a very low concordance rate (where both twins show the same trait) – less then 10% for the males and slightly over 12% for the females. Again, the study points to what we already know: there is a low concordance rate for homosexuality among identical twins, and the main factors in homosexuality are not genetic.
Click on the link for more details
Identical twins develop when one fertilized egg separates into two individuals. As such, identical twins have nearly identical DNA. Re... more -
Children Raised by Homosexuals are 7 times more likely to be Gays or Bisexuals
This review is a survey of nine studies (click on the link for details)
Based on the average found in the following nine studies, 14% of children raised by homosexual parents develop homosexual or bisexual preferences. These studies reported rates of non-heterosexuality ranging from 8% to 21%. The most frequently reported percentages were 14% and 16% (two studies each). For comparison purposes, data from the best national surveys report that approximately 2% of the general population is non-heterosexual (Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels,1994). Therefore, if these percentages hold true in better designed studies, children raised by homosexuals appear to be about seven times more likely to develop homosexual or bisexual preferences than children raised by heterosexuals. And, as was explained earlier, 14% may be an under-estimate due to the young ages of many of the subjects in these studies.
The nine studies surveyed are reviewed and include the authors' abstracts or descriptions provided by others, followed by her comments and/or analysis. They are presented in alphabetical order
This review is a survey of nine studies (click on the link for details) ... more -
Overseas Adoption Nightmare.
A couple adopted a child from guatamala when she was two years old. They did everything legal and went through all the proper steps. However, immigration officials are suspicious and will not grant their daughter citizenship. She could even be deported even though her life here is the only life she's ever known. It shows the complexities involved and red tape involved in our immigration procedures. How many more stories like this are out there? ... more -
30 Days, Same Sex Parenting
An episode of 30 Days has made it to Hulu.com
A woman, a child of the adoption system moves in with a gay couple and their four adopted sons, for thirty days no less. Both parties expect all hell to break loose from the get go, but it doesn't happen. Not yet.
You can tell Kati can relate to Dennis and Thomas, since she has a few lil ones of her own. She's a person whom deeply cares about kids, and it's easy to tell. What LGBT rights activists are feerful of people like Kati, is that their views might be misguided and actually hurt kids in the long run. Sort of what the oposition thinks, except the other way around.
I notice how the focus isn't on the kids so much as the beliefs of the adults. Undertandably so. Kids are too young to form the own opinions, or so we think. Too me though, they seem happy. We also get to see someone who feels hurt by the fact that she was raised around a gay man. We also see adults raised by group homes within the adoption system. They say "Doesn't matter if it's black brown, green orange, we need homes to grow up in that AREN'T group homes."
There's a few climaxes, here and there. Some don't seem provoked, but others i'm not so sure.
I think back to psychology in high school and the term "equilibrium". Our brains want to be in a state of equilibrium. When our belifes are challenged, all that has been truth in our lives is being challenged, thust disturbing our equilibrium. One such is an example: when a son/daughter brings an african-american back home where his father/mother, prejudice in nature, disaprove of having "their type" around. "He hasn't stolen a thing in his life," says the child. "He just hasn't stolen anything YET". The parents equilibrium is being challenged, as well as all they hold true.
Much to opponents of LGBT Rights's chagrin, proponents draw paralels between civil rights struggles in the 60's and gay rights activism. It's hard not too. Kati says at one point something like "These are rights for married men and women only," and once it was "these are rights reserved for whites only." Isn't that a fair parallel?
Alas, I really thought that Kati was goign to come out a changed woman. Surely 30 days is more than enough for someone to realize that gays are good people and good parents. It turns out equilibrium wants to be maintained more than one would think.
I think that this particular episode illustrates the fact that no matter how you slice it, we're in this together. "I find myself having to live with this woman," says Dennis (or Thomas, i forgot which is which) "but I don't really want to". "Lets stop stepping on each others toes," says Kati.
Easier said than done.
I feel that when it's a matter of civil rights, it's not a matter of democracy but of equal rights (supposedly what this country stands for). But, i have to admit that when children are involved, it makes gay rights a special case.
As a straight male, I feel that when I have kids, I'll try my best to raise them right. What parent doesn't feel that way. But when I f***k up in parenting, I hope my mistakes are separate from my sexuality.
Ok, so lets hear it. What say yeeeeee!? An episode of 30 Days has made it to Hulu.com ... more -
Farm Sanctuary Action Alert | Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary’s emergency rescue team is currently on the ground in Oakville, Iowa saving pigs stranded in the Mississippi River floods and providing them with emergency care and temporary shelter.
Thankfully, our efforts are proving successful as we now have 28 pigs in our custody. Many are in critical condition (suffering from injuries, pneumonia and third degree sunburns) and are receiving urgent care.
Now, as rescue efforts continue, we must quickly secure a large number of adoptive homes for pigs.
We continue to find more and more pigs still alive, surviving against all odds in fields, on levees, anywhere they can find refuge. Pigs are extremely resourceful, intelligent animals – they are fighters; they are survivors. After this tremendous demonstration of their will to live and all that they have endured, they deserve peace and comfort in their lives, as well as a chance to know that there is kindness in the world. PLEASE HELP by providing an adoptive home for as many pigs as you can.
Among those we have rescued is a brave, strong mother pig who gave birth to seven piglets within the past couple of days amidst the floods. She and her babies have survived the ordeal but this mother now needs a safe place to call home and nurture and raise her piglets.
Our need for homes is extremely urgent, as Farm Sanctuary already provides lifelong care to more than 50 pigs. We are continuing to rescue as many as we can, but our efforts can only continue with your participation in this extraordinary rescue.
Many of the rescued pigs swam for their lives to escape deadly flood waters. They were stranded without food or water, injured, sick, frightened, and confused. These pigs need you to give them hope for the future and keep them safe from harm forever.
ADOPT A PIG INTO YOUR HOME TODAY!
Contact our Farm Animal Adoption Network by calling 607-583-2225 ext. 223, e-mailing shelter@farmsanctuary.org or visiting us online at www.farmsanctuary.org/rescue/adoption.html. You can also learn more about pig care at www.farmsanctuary.org/rescue/care.html.
EMERGENCY RESCUE FUND DONATIONS STILL NEEDED
If you are unable to open your home to animals in need, please consider helping by donating now to our Emergency Rescue Fund which is already hard at work funding this critical rescue operation and providing aid to pigs and other farm animals in need.
PLEASE FORWARD AND DISTRIBUTE WIDELY. THANK YOU!
Farm Sanctuary’s emergency rescue team is currently on the ground in Oakville, Iowa saving pigs stranded in the Mississippi River floo... more -
Social workers - Wanna be professionals.
So how would you define a "professional?"
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Don't make a decision, you'll live to regret
UK social workers will suggest "temporary" care. There is no such thing. NEVER agree to it. You won't get your kids back.
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Madonna's Adoption Of David Banda Finalized
After placing her first adoption papers for David Banda in October 2006, Madonna can finally say it’s over and she has custody of David.
“It is a positive and beautiful judgment that will have an impact on Malawi’s adoption laws,” Alan Chinula said.
“Finally the court has granted Madonna full adoption rights of the boy - it’s a long judgement but I am quite happy with it.”
Madonna was not in court for the ruling.
Congratulations Madonna! After placing her first adoption papers for David Banda in October 2006, Madonna can finally say it’s over and she has custody of Davi... more -
Do whites need training before parenting black children?
Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black children in foster care are ill-served by a "colorblind" approach meant to encourage their adoption by white families.
Recommendations for major changes in the much-debated policy were outlined in a report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
"Color consciousness -- not 'color blindness' -- should help to shape policy development," the report said.
Groups endorsing its proposals included the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the Child Welfare League of America, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the National Association of Black Social Workers.
At issue is the 1994 Multi-Ethnic Placement Act -- and revisions made to it in 1996 -- governing the adoption of children from foster care.
One part of the law directs state agencies to recruit more adoptive parents of the same race as the children. The new report says this provision hasn't been adequately enforced and calls for better funded efforts to recruit minority parents.
The more contentious part of the legislation prohibits race from being taken into consideration in most decisions about adoption from foster care. For example, white parents seeking to adopt a black child cannot be required to undergo race-oriented training that differs in any way from training that all prospective adoptive parents receive.
A key recommendation in the new report calls for amending the law so race could be considered as a factor in selecting parents for children from foster care. The change also would allow race-oriented pre-adoption training. Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black c... more -
Transracial Adoption Faces Criticism
NEW YORK (AP) — Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, arguing that black children in foster care are ill-served by a "colorblind" approach meant to encourage their adoption by white families.
"Color consciousness -- not 'color blindness' -- should help to shape policy development," the report said. NEW YORK (AP) — Several leading child welfare groups Tuesday urged an overhaul of federal laws dealing with transracial adoption, argu... more -
JUDGES CRITICISE UK'S DISGRACEFUL SOCIAL WORKERS
Live case, true case.
Dad considering whether to go to European court of Human Rights.
Social workers were called "disgraceful" five times by the JUDGES!!
Find out how EVIL, UK Social Workers are. And why, we want them made accountable for their conduct. It is a discredit to Europe and to the UK.
Lets leave them with no place to hide!! Live case, true case. Dad considering whether to go to European court of Human Rights. ... more -
Fox declares black children are like monkeys
Madonna's adoption of a black child from the African nation of Malawi has recently been declared the same as adopting a monkey for the zoo. It seems that Brian Kilmeade, from Fox network, thinks that black children are tantamount to animals that need to be saved from savagery through kind white intentions.
Video plus the rest of the story available at:
http://womanist-musings.blogspot.com/2008/05/black-chil... Madonna's adoption of a black child from the African nation of Malawi has recently been declared the same as adopting a monkey for the... more -
Japan’s baby hatch - 16 babies dropped off in first year
A better alternative to abortion?
Instead of having one, you leave it at this church so they don't result in an unwanted death.
Politicians are now questioning the morals of this practice... Is this just going to raise irresponsibility within couples, or is this something we should have thought about years ago?
The church in Japan wouldn't disclose exactly how many babies have been dropped off since its launch in 2007, but the figure is estimated to be around 16 infants. A better alternative to abortion? Instead of having one, you leave it at this church so they don't result in an unwanted death. ... more -
Word of Madonna film reaches village of David Banda's father
Some 100 miles from Malawi's capital, the dusty village of Lipunga has no movie theaters or video players, let alone electricity. But villager Yohane Banda has at least heard that Madonna's new documentary is meant to draw attention to this southern African country's poverty.
It's a subject Banda knows well. Poverty forced him to put his son in an orphanage — and now Madonna is on the verge of adopting his son, David Banda, who turns 3 in September.
Banda said David's mother died when his son was just a month old. He believed that he could not care for him alone and that placing him in an orphanage was his "surest" chance to survive.
Some 100 miles from Malawi's capital, the dusty village of Lipunga has no movie theaters or video players, let alone electricity. But ... more
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Adoption
