Is it in the child's interest to keep quiet about the fact that the father is not the biological father? No, according to a court: from a certain age the child must know this in order to be able to consent to an adoption.

When adopting, the child's will must also be taken into account from a certain age. In this sense, the Family Law Working Group of the German Lawyers' Association (DAV) points to a decision by the Hamburg-Bergedorf District Court (Az: 415c F 15/19), which rejected an adoption "over the head of the child".

In this specific case, a man wanted to adopt his wife's biological daughter. He met his future wife while she was pregnant. They moved in together and later got married. Neither had informed the girl that her “father” was not her biological father. This harms the child's well-being, they argued. When the adoption agency rejected the adoption because of the lack of information, the couple went to court - but without success.

A lack of information is serious

KEY POINTS

• JPMorgan Chase said it has reached a settlement regarding victims of late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
• The bank’s litigation with the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Epstein matter remains, however. Its claims against former executive Jes Staley, who was friends with Epstein, are also active.
• Last week, lawyers for a Epstein victim, called Jane Doe 1 in documents, asked the court to reopen JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s deposition.

JPMorgan Chase is prepared to pay $290 million in a settlement with victims of the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Monday.

The settlement does not include an admission of liability by the bank, the person said.

FORGED ADOPTIONS 6: Personal notes or memos that could serve as important clues to tracking down birth parents have often been withheld from adoptees under the current scheme

The oldest international adoptee to share their story with the Hankyoreh was Margaret Conlon, adopted in 1965, while the youngest was Mia Lee Sorensen, adopted in 1988. Regardless of the period in which they were adopted, the majority of adoptees are unable to trust the personal information and records about them held by adoption agencies, and they expressed frustration over the difficulty of even accessing this information.

The National Center for the Rights of the Child (formerly Korea Adoption Services) was established under the Ministry of Health and Welfare in line with an amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning Adoption in 2012 for the purpose of post-adoption follow-up services. The transfer and release of information on adoptees became a hot topic at this time, but adoption agencies including the national center still only entered 51 basic items of factual information including the names and addresses of adoptees and their birth parents. Other information such as consultation records and personal notes or memos that could serve as important clues to tracking down birth parents were not released.

Adoption experts believe adoption agencies should apologize for the common practice of illegally forging documents in the past and release the original copies of all documents, including consultation records, with no filters.

“To adoptees, even a small note that pertains to their roots is very precious,” said Noh Hye-ryeon, a professor of social welfare at Soongsil University who formerly worked in the overseas division of Holt Children’s Services and an adoption agency in San Jose, California. “They even say the documents are imbued with the life of the mother who gave them up, and want a chance to personally hold them in their hands.”

At issue in the case was whether a law aimed at keeping Native American adoptees within tribes is constitutional.

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 1978 law aimed at keeping Native American adoptees with their tribes and traditions, handing a victory to tribes that had argued that a blow to the law would upend the basic principles that have allowed them to govern themselves for years.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, affirmed the power of Congress to make laws about Native American tribes and child welfare. But the ruling did not resolve the question of whether the law, the Indian Child Welfare Act, discriminated against non-Native families based on race.

The vote was 7 to 2, with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissenting.

The case pitted a white foster couple from Texas against five tribes and the Interior Department as they battled over the adoption of a Native American child.

A North Texas couple who was convicted of human trafficking after they spent years adopting children for free labor at their puppymill will stay in jail.

Jeffrey Barrett of Greenville is currently serving a life prison term and his wife Barbara is serving 99-years after they were found guilty of Continuous Trafficking of a Child in Hunt County.

Both were part of a horrendous operation out of their rural home. Court reports show the couple adopted at least five children. But instead of raising the younsters, the Barretts kept the kids out of school and used them as slave labor in their business, raising dogs.

Prosecutors say the kids were abused and neglected all while being forced to be on the job from sun-up to sundown, feeding animals and cleaning pens, even grooming dogs around the clock if state regulators were expected.

The children were all totally cut off from the outside world with no friends or computer access.

The health protection committee of the Russian lower house has reviewed the bill banning “sex change” and supported introducing two amendments to it, parliamentary channel Duma TV reported on Tuesday.

The bill seeks to ban gender reassignment surgery and hormonal treatment except in cases of “congenital physiological deviations”. It will also prohibit changes to official documents on the basis of medical “sex change” certificates.

The proposed amendments will allow to annul marriages in cases when one or both spouses undergoes a “sex change”.

“Those marriages that were registered by a man and a woman, one of whom then ended up of a different sex, will be annulled,” deputy chair of the committee Sergey Leonov told TASS.

The amendment will be retroactive, rendering invalid those marriages where one or both spouses had transitioned before the law’s introduction.

As the frequency of DNA paternity tests surges, the umbrella Human Rights Organization (CLADHO) has issued a stark warning, highlighting the potential risks faced by children in the absence of adequate protective measures.

A recently released report by Rwanda Forensic Laboratory shows a significant increase in the number of paternity tests, soaring from 168 in 2018/19 to 780 in 2022/23.

Lab records show that 246 paternity tests were performed in 2019/20, 424 tests in 2020/21, and 599 in 2021/22, and then 780 tests in 2022/23.

An official from the institution explained to The New Times that the surge in DNA paternity tests can partly be attributed to the accessibility of DNA services and greater awareness campaigns across the the country.

Established in 2018, the Forensic Science Laboratory is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Justice.

One of PEAR’s members, Pamela Veazie, wrote an independent analysis of the Against Child Trafficking (ACT) Fruits of Ethiopia Report. In it she highlights various orphanages in Ethiopia named in the report, potential problems and agencies affiliated with those orphanages. This in-depth analysis can be found here: http://reformtalk.blogspot.com/2011/03/fruits-of-ethiopia-part-2-cases.html

Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

People for Ethical Adoption Reform
www.pear-now.org

Victims and campaigners renew calls for state to admit responsibility for historic scandal in light of new evidence

An estimated 185,000 mostly unmarried young women in England and Wales were forced into giving up their babies between 1949 and 1976

Hundreds of women forced to give their babies up for adoption are renewing their calls for the UK government to follow Scotland and Wales in issuing a formal apology, in light of new evidence.

Dr Michael Lambert, a historian at Lancaster University, uncovered archival evidence that he believes shows responsibility does lie with the state.

Lambert told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he believes a lengthy “trail of exchange” within the civil service, and the “final reply”, proves that the government knew “in no uncertain terms” that language like “forced” and “no choice” were being used by adoption agencies. It demonstrates “government involvement” in the process, he added.

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Most "journey to the roots" stories conclude in easy reconciliation, says Cambodian-French director Davy Chou, who wanted to offer a counter perspective through "Return to Seoul", his critically-acclaimed film about an adoptee's search for connection and meaning.
    The film, currently streaming on MUBI India, revolves around Freddie, a 25-year-old French-Korean played by artist-sculptor Park Ji-min. On a whim, Freddie lands in Seoul, a trip that may look unplanned but what she is actually looking for is a way to connect with her biological parents.
    Chou said as someone who grew up with two cultural identities, he understands the confusion that comes with trying to make sense of one's origin.
    "In the 'journey to the roots' classical story, (there's) always some kind of happy, full closure happening at the end of the film. I just feel like, 'Guys, it's not that simple!' I was excited to offer a counter perspective on that kind of a classical film," he told PTI in an interview.
    Chou co-wrote "Return To Seoul" with his childhood friend Laure Badufle, who as a Korean-French adoptee, is also the real-life inspiration behind the movie.
    The director, whose parents fled Cambodia just before the Khmer Rouge genocide in 1975, recalled how it all started when Badufle asked him to accompany her to meet her biological father in South Korea in 2011.
    "If I was to imagine, I would have maybe imagined more tears and more like people sharing experiences. But it was very different. It's something that really shocked me because it was so emotional, but also maybe so different from what I would have expected from such a reunion," he said.
    Chou said Badufle, who is a yogini, life coach and artist, confided in him that she also felt frustrated with films and documentariese around the theme of adoption always ending in reconciliation "with yourself, all your identities and your culturally different families".
    "She said that was not her experience of meeting her biological father, which just brought up more questions. I relate to that because even though I'm not adopted, I myself have a different origin. Like Cambodia, which I decided to visit when I was 25, which is the same age as Freddie's in the beginning of the film," he said.
    Chou said he understands why the story of "Return To Seoul", which opened to glowing reviews at its Cannes Film Festival premiere in 2022, found a connection with the audiences.
    "A lot of us are like second generation or third generation of immigrants who are curious because they also have the chance to be able to travel, to go to the country where they're supposed to come from, but you often know nothing about or you believe you know something and you find out that you know nothing," he said.
    "That's very contemporary and thematic, but I rarely find it treated in the way that will speak to my own experience. So that's basically why I wanted to make the film," he added.
    Chou said it has been more challenging for Badufle to see "the chapter of her life re-emerge for two hours" on the big screen.
    "She watched the film at the same time with 1,000 people at Cannes, which is a bit brutal, and it was not a good experience, I would say," he admitted.
    Weeks after the Cannes screening, he said, they had coffee in Paris and the filmmaker thought his friend felt "a bit down" with all that was happening around the film.
    "Then, she came back to another screening. Participating and talking with the audience was an important moment for her to get back the ownership of her story. She felt good afterwards," he added.
    The success of the film and the way the story has resonated with other adoptees has also been comforting for Badufle, said Chou.
    "Even now, I think it's still a rollercoaster emotional thing for her, which is normal. It's not easy to see your life on the big screen and people discussing it everywhere. You don't really have control on that."