AHMEDABAD: A 39-year-old man failed to secure custody of his threeyear-old daughter through a habeas corpus petition after his estranged

wife handed over the daughter to an orphanage, from where the child was

given in adoption to a couple not known to the father.

On Monday, the Gujarat high court rejected the habeas corpus petition

saying that the child is not under any illegal confinement and hence the

American families adopted 241 Indian kids in 2019, an official US report said on Wednesday. In fiscal 2019, consular officers issued 2,971 immigrant visas to children adopted abroad (2,677) or to be adopted in the United States (294) by American citizens, the State Department said in its 12th annual report on the issue. The report shows a decline in the total number of inter-country adoptions by American families, Special Advisor for Children's Issues Michelle Bernier-Toth told reporters during a news conference.

Most of that decline he attributed to a decrease of inter-country adoptions from just two countries: China (a decrease of 656) and Ethiopia (a decrease of 166). In both cases, the reductions result from "continued social, economic or legal changes that we have previously reported on regarding those countries", she said.

"We believe that most of the continuing worldwide decline is due to countries prioritising domestic placements for vulnerable children before considering inter-country adoption, or countries such as Russia, Guatemala and Ethiopia, which have unilaterally suspended or banned inter-country adoption," she said.

At the same time, some countries noticeably increased the number of inter-country adoptions to the US, including Ukraine (+50), Liberia (+21), Hungary (+17) and Colombia (+15), the report said.

However, Chinese kids still top the list of adoptions with 819 in 2019. China is followed by Ukraine (298), Colombia (244), India (241) and South Korea (166).

MEXICALI, B.C. (KYMA, KECY)-A same-sex couple in Mexicali returns their nine-year-old adopted daughter to the National System for Integral Family Development (DIF).

After 6 months of trying to adopt a child, Martha and Bertha became the first same-sex couple in Mexicali to adopt a child.

However, the child was returned to the state DIF without any reasons being disclosed by the party of authority.

Last October, the couple managed to finalize the adoption after more than a year of completing the procedure and becoming the first same-sex couple in Mexicali and Baja California to achieve the adoption of a minor by the DIF.

The general director of the state DIF, Blanca Esthela Fabela, reported that the minor is in good health and the case is being investigated by the institution.

Monrovia- Maria Morgan Luyken, a naturalized American citizen who has been linked to the trafficking more than 500 Liberian children over a ten-year period, says she did nothing wrong to adopt poor people children and made them travel to America.

On May 7, Talk Show host, Costa posted a picture of Madam Luyken and Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee on his Facebook page and at the same time stated that Madam Luyken has benefited about four million dollars from trafficking Liberian kids.

“Fresh information on child trafficker Maria Luyken; She sold a total of 550 children over 10 years. She made about 4 million dollars, charging US$ 9,000 per child in “processing fees”. The more I learn about this disgusting woman, the more I get so angry that’s she is still free and passing around,” Costa posted on his most followed Facebook page.

But speaking to journalists in Monrovia Sunday, May 10, Madam Luyken who was born and raised in Liberia before going to the US to attain American citizenship admitted of taking over 500 children to the US but noted that she followed all of the legal steps in adopting children.

“Saah Joseph was adopted and today has come back to become a senator. What a blessing. So, if 10 percent of those children that were adopted were to come back, it will be good for Liberia. China did the same, they sent their children out for adoption and today they are blessing their country why not us when we are one of the poorest countries in the world. Why not us when we so connected to the US when we all want to be in the US,” Madam Luyken said.

The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked ministry of external affairs (MEA) to apprise it whether for adoption under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA)-1956, no objection certificate (NOC) from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is mandatory.

The response was sought on the plea from a two- year- old girl, adopted by an NRI couple. She was one of the twins born to a Jalandhar couple and subsequently adopted by NRI sister of her natural mother. They had applied for passport, but it was refused on the ground that there was no NOC from CARA. It is a statutory body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA is established under Juvenile Justice Act (JJA), 2015.

The girl was born in November 2017 to a Sikh family in Jalandhar. She was adopted as per Sikh rites performed at a local Gurdwara as both the sides of parents were Sikhs to which a certificate too was issued. An adoption deed was executed between both the parents in November 2018 under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (as applicable to Sikhs). Thereafter, the family applied for girl’s passport which was rejected by authorities stating that NOC from CARA was mandatory.

As per petitioner girl’s advocate SS Nara, Section 56 (3) of the JJ Act 2015 states that the provisions of the JJ Act would not be applicable to the adoption of children made under the provisions of HAMA, latter being a ‘special law’. JJ Act does not override the provisions of HAMA Act, it was argued adding that in view of this passport cannot be denied.

On the other hand, Central government counsel had argued it is a mandatory procedure for the adoption to be ratified by CARA, even though JJ Act would not be applicable to an adoption under HAMA. There are notifications which categorically state that the Hague Convention itself mandates adoptions to be through CARA alone, the counsel had added.

TEHRAN – Child adoption has increased in the country, as some 2,000 children are adopted annually, 1,700 of whom are placed for permanent adoption and 300 in temporary custody, Habibollah Masoudi, deputy director of the Welfare Organization has stated.

Following the Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents in [the Iranian calendar year] 1392 (March 2013-March 2014), the number of adoption cases has increased and 2,000 children are placed for adoption annually, some of whom are placed under temporary custody because a temporary trustee is better than care centers, he explained.

For adoption, criteria like mental health, the ability to take care of a child, no addiction, no criminal record, and bad reputation, as well as proper income must be achieved. The approach is the result of studying the adoption process in 10 countries around the world, he noted.

He went on to say that many countries in the world have stricter rules for adoption than Iran. For example, driving violations are considered for adoption. It is believed that those who commit traffic violations are lawbreakers and cannot be good parents, also issues such as parties and home safety are considered in some countries.

Last year, 160 children were adopted who were suffering from diseases or disabilities. Also, 130 children were given to single girls over the age of 30, he stated.

YouTube mom Myka Stauffer had adopted a Chinese child in 2017, just to give him back because he was autistic. Naturally, she was at the receiving end of overwhelming hatred, with many claiming that the entire adoption process was just an act of monetisation as the couple did make a lot of money post adoption. And then there is a couple in India who adopted a 16-month-old child with Down Syndrome.

Kavita and her husband Himanshu adopted Veda in 2017 and three years later, the couple celebrated their adoption anniversary on 30 May. Kavita shared how she was always interested in adopting a child and was never interested in having a biological child. She has confided in her husband about this wish before they got married and he was on the same page and didn’t want them to be an ordinary couple. They had decided beforehand that they would adopt a baby girl.

One would wonder what made them adopt a child with special needs, to which Kavita shared that it was on their trip to the US, they made up their mind. They learned about kids with Down Syndrome and decided that they wanted to fight the stigma attached to special needs and stability. “We wanted to provide an environment, a home and cater to their physical and mental needs.”

They adopted Veda when they were already married for over 5 years. The family was upset over their decision to not have biological children and felt uncomfortable whenever they broached on the topic of adoption. “Our family was not happy when we adopted a child with special needs but we had made up our minds by then. We knew we had to do it for Veda, if not for ourselves.”

The couple did not send Veda to school and have been homeschooling her. They exclusively told a leading website, “We do not believe in formal education. We feel every child is different and has a different learning curve. Their pace is different, too. We let Veda decide what she wants to do. My day starts with having breakfast and doing activities with her. She loves watering plants and painting. We also involve speech and occupational therapy while she does her activities. We go up and down the stairs to strengthen her muscles, and this is pretty much our daily routine.”

On this weblog you can follow us during our journey through India.

August 14, 2005

At home ... part 1

Today I made a small change. I have placed a large number of weblogs in the archive. This frees up more space for the latest weblogs. When you click on a specific date in the left column, you can open and view the blogs placed in the archive.

The days after returning home were intense. At home, indeed, but uncomfortable and it didn't feel like home yet. It was also quiet. And without the companions around me it was lonely too.

- They have never been my parents, says 27-year-old Netra Sommer.

"How lucky are you that you were adopted to Denmark."

It is a phrase that many adoptees hear throughout their lives, especially if they come from poor countries.

Netra Sommer does that.

She was born in Mumbai and spent the first part of her life in an orphanage in a poor Indian area until she was adopted to Denmark.

When they decided to start a family, Sangeetha and Stefano opted for international adoption, giving them the availability to welcome children with reversible diseases such as cleft lip and palate. This is their story.

“My name is Sangeetha, I was born in India 37 years ago and at five I was adopted by an Italian family. Today I live in the province of Brescia with my husband Stefano and our 7-year-old adopted daughter Jana, born in Kottur, India, just like me. "

Sangeetha has always felt the desire to relive, as a mother, the experience of adoption. When she and Stefano decided to start a family they had no doubts and India seemed to them the logical continuation of their path.

"Our intention was to give willingness to accept children with certain reversible pathologies, those that we felt capable of dealing with, such as cleft lip and palate ."

In accepting this pathology, the experience of Stefano, born with cleft lip, also weighed . A further element that, in some way, closed the circle.