NORTH TEXAS — The founder of a North Texas adoption agency has been arrested on allegations of paying pregnant female inmates in the Tarrant County Jail to put their unborn babies up for adoption. 

Jody Hall, head of Adoptions International Inc., posted a $50,000 bond after being booked into a Central Texas jail last week. She is an attorney and founder of an adoption agency promoted as a licensed nonprofit. 

Back in May, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said it began looking into what it calls unethical adoption practices involving Hall.

"During this investigation, information was discovered that Jody Hall was paying money to multiple, pregnant Tarrant County inmates for the purpose of placing their unborn children up for adoption with Hall's agency," the sheriff's office said in a statement. 

Two months later, sheriff's detectives served arrest warrants on Hall at her home in Kyle, Texas. 

A Thane couple residing in Germany will be allowed to meet their 3.6-year-old daughter, who was placed in foster care in 2021, once every month. The Indian government is working to ensure she is exposed to her cultural heritage and language, with efforts underway to bring her back to India.

THANE: A Thane couple employed in Germany will be able to meet their 3.6-year-old daughter-who was separated from them and assigned to a foster care by German courts in Sept 2021-once every month, said Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske.

Mhaske said the Indian govt is likely to communicate with their German counterparts to ensure that the girl, who hails from the Jain community, is introduced to her native language and cultural heritage by being taken for temple visits regularly while she remains in foster care in Germany.

Mhaske made the announcement following communication from S Jaishankar, Union minister of external affairs (MEA), informing him about the steps being taken by govt to not only ensure the girl is exposed to her native culture, but also efforts being taken to request their German counterparts to allow her to be brought to India.

It may be recalled that the custody of the then barely six-month-old girl was assigned to the Youth Welfare Authority (YWA) by German courts after local authorities suspected she was assaulted while under the care of her parents, who had shifted to the country for work.

The case was heard in the lower courts that granted custody of the child to the YWA. The Berlin Court of Appeals that later heard the case upheld the custody decision in July 2024, said Mhaske, citing the MEA communication.

"The family is from Mira-Bhayander and belongs to the Jain community, whose representatives have been requesting our govt and also approached me to assist them in bringing the child back... One of their major fears is the girl may lose touch with her native upbringing and get exposed to foreign culture. I raised the issue in the Lok Sabha early this month, following which the MEA interacted with their German counterparts," said Mhaske.

Girl who went to school after mom’s death, dad who kept quiet, boyfriend who helped in shradh

KOLKATA: The 14-year-old girl who, along with her 17-year old boyfriend, allegedly killed her mother in Behala on June 6, might have been triggered by the knowledge that she was adopted, which also sparked several behavioural changes in her, cops probing the murder said on Tuesday.

The two accused were produced before the juvenile justice board on Tuesday, which advised tests to gauge the boy’s IQ and maturity, to assess whether he could be treated as an adult. Charged with murder, criminal intimidation and common intent, they were sent to 14 days’ juvenile custody.

The cops said the girl found out only last year that she was adopted, after which people around her started to notice changes in behaviour. Her father said she found out in March 2023 from “someone in the neighbourhood”. Suddenly, the loving daughter changed, he said, adding, “She confronted us and then started misbehaving with us, especially her mother.” She started neglecting her studies and skipping school, spending long hours locked up in her room. There was also friction between her and her mother over the boyfriend, the father said. She had even fled with the boy to Digha after stealing Rs 50,000 from home. Neighbours, too, noticed this stark change.

Although police had said on Monday that the two teenagers had “confessed” to their crime, a senior officer said on Tuesday establishing murder in court would be challenging, as the prosecution only had circumstantial evidence. First, the body is not available, as the accused had reportedly cremated it; second, no postmortem was conducted, as the accused had allegedly obtained a “natural death” certificate from a doctor.

“We are collating as much circumstantial evidence as possible,” said a senior Kolkata Police officer. The cops are also trying to understand the behaviour of the girl’s father and her boyfriend. The boy helped the family arrange everything for the cremation and then even attended to guests during the shradh ceremony, all while staying unruffled.

Following the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, which is commemorated each year on July 30 - Sister Leonida Katunge appealed for men and women of goodwill to look into the dramatic issue of organ trafficking.

By Sister Leonida Katunge

All that brings to mind the sad moments of past bitter experiences are not worthy of celebration. The Catholic Church commemorates the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to celebrate His death, but to call to mind the fact that through His death, salvation came into the world. This is the good side of a sad story that ends joyfully. But it is quite the opposite when dealing with cases of human trafficking, where most of the time, those involved face a sad ending.

The annual commemoration of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons is a moment in which we recognize the life and suffering of so many brothers and sisters who have been victims of trafficking in the world. Many of them suffer while being trafficked, especially after they survive. The wounds are physical, emotional, social, political, economic, and spiritual.

The theme of this year’s commemoration - “Leave no child behind in the fight against human trafficking” - reminds me of a sorrowful experience I had in May 2020. It was a day just like any other when received a call from an unknown number. I answered, and the person calling was a lady in distress. She informed me that she had been arrested by the police at the airport, but gave no reason for her arrest.

Petitioner's ex-husband filed for divorce when she was 9 months pregnant & has never seen their son. She asks for exemption from consent requirement so her new husband can adopt the child.

New Delhi: A case involving a former couple has brought a pertinent legal issue before the Supreme Court on the question of consent by a former spouse if a parent and her current spouse want to adopt a child of the former couple. 

The petitioner, a Supreme Court lawyer, approached the top court demanding a direction to the registrar of birth and death in New Delhi to register the adoption deed by her and her now-husband, the child’s stepfather. 

She demanded that this adoption be allowed without her former husband’s consent, asserting that “the peculiar facts in the present case put the petitioner in an impossible situation to seek the requisite consent from her former husband”. 

Among other things, she pointed out that “the former husband has not seen the child even once till date, including the time of the birth”. Narrating the facts of her case, she highlighted the difficulty she faced in approaching her former husband, also a lawyer, for his consent for the adoption.

Recommendations for the implementation of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive: Turning children’s rights commitment to good practices

Zunheboto, July 27 (MExN): The Sümi Hoho has resolved that if non-Naga children are adopted, they should not be given Sümi name, nor should they receive a no objection certificate for scheduled tribe and indigenous inhabitant certificates.

As per customary law, they have no hereditary property inheritance rights or village chieftains rights, the Sümi Hoho further resolved.

“Adopted non-locals who subjugate any Sümi or instigate falsehoods among Nagas will face heavy penalties,” it added. 
These decisions were part of the ten resolutions unanimously adopted during the Sümi Baghi Hoho (Sümi General Public Meeting) held on July 26 in Zunheboto.

As per the Sümi Hoho, the main resolution at the meeting pertained to child adoption, and the meeting also resolved that there is “no objection to the adoption of Naga children.”

At the public meeting, Resolution Committee Convenor Vihoshe Mürü read out ten resolutions that were unanimously adopted by the congregation of over 1,000 people from all walks of life, stated a press release from Hotoshe Sema, Joint Secretary, Sümi Hoho.

The Surrogacy Act was enacted to prevent the commercialisation of surrogacy. Our investigation uncovered a clandestine surrogacy racket operating with greater secrecy than organ trafficking.

Surrogacy has been a thriving business in India since the beginning of the millennium. However, unethical medical practices and the exploitation of surrogates have cast a shadow over the practice in the country, which once gained a reputation of being a 'rent a womb' haven for childless couples.

The commercialisation of the unregulated sector gave rise to "surrogacy tourism" as foreign couples flocked to India. This prompted the government to bring legislation to ban commercial surrogacy in 2021. However, clinics exploiting impoverished women and human trafficking for surrogacy have turned out to be a menace despite regulations.

To gauge the ground situation in such clinics, India Today spoke to many fertility centres in Delhi-NCR. A probe reveals that the illicit trade persists and its operations have merely shifted underground.

The reporter, under the guise of a woman looking for a surrogate mother, visited a fertility clinic in Gurugram. Here, the reporter gave her identity as 'Divya'. After being made to fill a detailed form, the reporter is then greeted by a coordinator or an agent at the clinic.

This year, Defence for Children Nederland is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Defence for Children is the only legal children's rights organisation in the Netherlands, located in Leiden on the Hooglandse Kerkgracht in the old children's orphanage. The lawyers who work there assist children, families, lawyers and care providers with their legal assistance needs on a daily basis. The Children's Rights Helpdesk handles around 1,000 cases each year in which children's rights are at stake and the organisation can make a difference free of charge.

Defence for Children investigates abuses and provides information to professionals, parents and children about children's rights. They also stand up for children so that their rights are respected and unjust systems and situations are addressed. We are committed to changing legislation and regulations to ensure that children's rights are always respected.

Director Mirjam Blaak

Mirjam Blaak has been the director of Defence for Children Netherlands for 5 years, she has worked there for 21 years. 'When I got to know the work of Defence for Children, I knew I wanted to be involved. After my studies in cultural anthropology, I did all kinds of work and I became acquainted with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and wanted to contribute to it. Because it concerns all aspects of children's lives and it concerns seeing children.'

'I called Stan Meuwese, the director at the time, every month to ask if I could come and work at Defence for Children. After three months he couldn't let me wait any longer. " The funding isn't in place yet, but come on, he said. "That was 21 years ago this year.'

July 26 – District Child Protection Unit South Goa has issued a public notice stating that two children under their care will be declared legally free for adoption no persons comes forward to claim that they are their family members within 60 days.  Both are girls aged 7 and 9. The children’s parent/relatives whereabouts are not available, informed DCPU, South.