An apparent scheme for illegally selling newborn babies to agencies and families for the purpose of adoption was recently uncovered in the city of Navsari in the state of Gujarat, India.
The discovery of the alleged scheme happened when a woman gave premature birth to her baby at Krishna Maternity Hospital. She apparently had not intended to give birth at this facility, but had gone there after being refused treatment at a local hospital. When the woman later returned to reclaim her premature infant the doctor would not give the baby back--presumably because the child was not there.
(It is not clear from the articles exactly why she left the child behind in the first place. Did she leave the child behind for treatment of the child's prematurity? Or did she leave the child behind because she intended to relinquish the child and then changed her mind within the legal 60 days window for reclaiming children?)
At any rate, when she could not get her child back, the woman went to the local police.
This set in motion an investigation of the Krishna Maternity Home, the doctor who ran it, his wife (who is a social worker), and the wife's involvement in a local charity, the Ayappa Bal Asha Trust, an organization "to help the needy" which is registered with the Social Welfare Deparment.
According to the news articles, neither the Krishna Maternity Home nor the Ayappa Bal Asha Trust were registered to faciliatate the adoption of children.
Despite the lack of license to do adoptions, the doctor and his wife, according to news accounts, had "sold" for adoption (to both individual families and also to agencies, more than 60 children).
Police were attempting to track down where individual babies came from, and where exactly they went, but this was made harder by the fact that doctor and his wife apparently did not keep good records.
In apparent violation of the law, many of the births and deaths were not recorded.
The children allegedly sold for adoption were widely dispersed, ending up in various places in Gujarat as well as in the cities of Pune, Mumbai, and Thane, and also, allegedly "abroad"--outside of India. (Hmmm....)
As a result of the preliminary investigation, the Gujarati obstetrican/gynecologist and his social worker wife were arrested and charged with "concealment of birth by secret disposal of bodies, [the] selling of minors, causing miscarriage without consent, wrongful confinement or abduction, forgery, and criminal conspiracy" in India in March of 2007.
Despite the impressive number of news reports covering this case (as listed below), the details of the scheme of which these two are suspected and the details of the crimes with which they were charged, are hard to piece together.
With this dearth of information and only the facts of the case as they are presented in the news accounts, it might be possible to imagine this case as one of the doctor and his wife simply failing to follow proper paperwork procedures while carrying out essentially legal activities. (and this may yet turn out to be the situation)
However, the zealous way the police have pursued the case and the serious charges filed against the doctor and his wife suggest otherwise.
There was an argument for not covering this case on my blog until more facts were known, but the huge number of children involved makes this an important case.
As does the fact that the case may potentially shed light on the reportedly large underground domestic adoption trade in India.
I'll update this blog entry as further facts on the case become available in the press.
Desiree
Navsari adoption racket still out of police probe range, Yahoo News India (India Express), 4/04/07
Adoption scam: Doctor, wife remanded in police custody, Yahoo News India (India Express),3/31-07
Cops to Probe Mumbai Link in Gujarat Child Adoption Scam, MumbaiNewsline, Indian Express, 04/29/07
Cops to Probe Mumbai Link in Gujarat Child Adoption Scam, Yahoo News India, 04/29/07
Gujarat Gynecologist and his social worker wife arrested in adoption scam, Gujarat Global.com, 03/27/07
Adoption scam: Baby’s remains recovered near Navsari temple, Ahmedabad, 03/27/07
Desiree,
ReplyDeleteAnother flea here.... we are much more effective fighting TOGETHER!
I would like you to check out my book, THE STORK MARKET: America's Multi-Billion Dollar Unregulated Adoption Industry and recent articles:
1. Big Business In Babies: Adoption, The Child Commodities Market
2. Guilty Until Proven Innocent
3. All in a Day's News...
http://www.opednews.com/author/author5737.html
They have also been printed at CounterCurrents.org and AssociatedContent.com !
AND: Judyth Piazza chats with Mirah Riben, Author of The Stork Market
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=5012
You have to listen past music and intro stuff...
I AM IN THE PROCESS OF FORMING A COALITION OF CONCERNED PERSONS TO UNITE ALL OF US WHO KNOW THESE TRUTHS TO BE NOT BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN AND FORCE THE US TO DO SOMETHING TO REMOVE THE PROFITEERING IN ADOPTION.
Please join us - you and David:
www.ppffpp.org
www.FamilyPreservation.blogspot.org
We need to UNITE!
I also want to call your attention to another site and an excellent book:
ReplyDeleteRomania For Export Only by Roelie Post. The website has a news feed of international adoption scandals.
http://www.romania-forexportonly.eu/
We need to recognize that this corruption is NOT limited to foreign lands.
ReplyDeletePlease read: AMERICAN LEBENSBORN: GUEST BLOGGER BARBARA RAYMOND at http://bastardette.blogspot.com/
to see how the horrors of international adoption have homegrown roots as well.
May I ask what is the current status of your daughter in regard to their birth family.
ReplyDeleteMirah Riben
email@advocatepublications.com
Mirah,
ReplyDeleteMy daughters are in contact with their Indian family.
We found them, through an intermediary, in late Oct 2004.
Unfortunately the girls' first father passed away a few weeks before our older daughter had her reunion in Dec 2005.
Our younger daughter's reunion took place in Dec 2006.
Family members stay in contact via mail, intermediary, and less frequently, telephone.
Desiree
Mirah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. I am currently reading Roelie's book.
As for the homegrown roots of adoption corruption, after two attempts, I finally finished reading "The Girls Who Went Away" a few months ago. Two attempts because the first time I tried to read it, it so affected me that I could only bring myself to read te first and last chapters. Months later, I tried again. Took the plunge and read the whole thing. Very powerful book.
Desiree