Non-Orthodox families will be able to adopt non-Jewish children more easily, as adoption standards will now be made "in the best interest of the child."

After 20 years of legal dispute, non-Jewish children in the Israeli child services system will no longer be prioritized for Orthodox Jewish families over non-Orthodox families, so that they can undergo Orthodox conversion, the High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday.

Non-Orthodox families will be more able to adopt non-Jewish children, as adoption standards will be on a case-by-case basis “in the best interest of the child,” said the court. The state agreed to the new standard.

“The child’s best interests include their concrete needs, past, characteristics and difficulties,” read the statement.

The result of a protracted battle in the Israeli courts

Thiruvananthapuram: The woman who is now facing legal action in the case related to the alleged sale of a newborn baby had been divorced twice because she could not give birth to a baby, police investigation has revealed. She had even approached the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) a few years ago to adopt a child; however, it did not become a reality as the CWC officers reportedly rejected her request as she did not own a property in her name.

She also failed to meet other criteria put forward by CWC to adopt a child.

Lali (33), of Nedumcaud near Karamana, is now facing charges in a case registered for purchasing the baby under sections 75, 80 and 81 of Juvenile Justice Act.

“Lali was first married some 12 years ago, and her first husband legally divorced her after she failed to give birth to a baby. Later she married again and had conceived twice. However, she suffered miscarriages. Later, her second husband also divorced her and she was leading an isolated life after that. Lali was working as a house maid to earn a living and it was by accident that she met the biological mother of the newborn.

The woman used to sell clothes to earn her livelihood as her husband had left her after she got pregnant. When she met Lali, she was seven-months pregnant and was struggling to find the expense for the delivery.

There was a lot of fuss about Spoorloos because the tracking program had linked many participants to the wrong family members. Thanks to Spoorloos, Mabel Nummerdor (49) did find her real French father, but she still gives presenter Derk Bolt (67) and his investigation team a big kick. Why?

Last year, crime journalist Kees van der Spek revealed in his RTL 5 program Kees van der Spek, scammers tackled that the KRO-NCRV program Spoorloos had gone wrong countless times – many participants who were looking for their 'lost' relatives had been to the wrong people linked. After the TV broadcast, more mistakes were made and a media storm ensued.

Displeasure

These so-called mismatches came about through the corrupt intermediary Edwin Vela, on whom presenter Derk Bolt and his editors blindly trusted. Just as the failed 'family reunions' of the tracking program have faded into the background, former participant Mabel Numberdor expresses her displeasure with the search for her biological father.

Cheated

Patrick Madden was raised as an only child in the Bronx by his adopted Irish father and Irish American mother, but only learned about his Irish birth family in January 2023 at the age of 63.

Patrick Madden, who was given up at birth in Dublin and adopted by an Irish American couple in New York, has recently discovered his long-lost Irish family and learned that he is the eldest of eight siblings.

Madden, who was raised as an only child in the Bronx by his adopted Irish father and Irish American mother, only learned about his birth family in Ireland last January at the age of 63.

Madden told IrishCentral that it was "no big surprise" when he learned that he was adopted because he didn't look anything like his adopted parents but said he did not have a birth certificate, which made it very difficult to find any information about his birth mother.

It also made it next to impossible for him to obtain an Irish passport, even though he was born in Ireland to Irish parents and subsequently raised by an adopted Irish father.

The bench noted that the issues facing the petitioners were that the husband has exceeded the age limit, and the family friend who would act as a surrogate was not genetically related as per the statutory requirements.

In a case heard by the Karnataka High Court on April 21, a single-judge bench has set a test with three conditions to check the eligibility of surrogacy, as one of the parents has crossed the age limit.

The bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the issues facing the petitioners were that the husband has exceeded the age limit, and the family friend who would act as a surrogate was not genetically related as per the statutory requirements. It proposed a triple test, which included a genetic test, a physical test, and an economic test.

The wife in the case was 45 years old, while the husband was 57 (two years past the age limit for surrogacy). Their son had passed away in a road accident after completing his MBBS, and they found out that there would be a long waiting period to adopt another child. The wife had also earlier had a hysterectomy. In the case of surrogacy, the sister-in-law of the husband was willing to donate the egg cell while a 25-year-old family friend was willing to act as a surrogate to give birth to the child.

The court, further, directed the couple to approach the relevant Surrogacy Board or Authority, which was in turn directed to pass appropriate orders for eligibility certificate within four weeks, bearing in mind the observations of the court.

NC’s Baptist Children’s Homes dedicates ministry home for birth mothers

With the cutting of a ceremonial ribbon, the transformation of a historic, residential home, brought back to life after nearly being condemned, is complete. Much like the women this new ministry will serve, the house is prepared for a bright, new beginning as The Emmanuel Home.

Approximately 200 people attended the dedication ceremony on Tuesday (April 25) to celebrate the opening of the completely restored home that is the next step in Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina’s commitment to providing compassionate support to birth mothers — women who have chosen adoption for their babies through BCH’s Christian Adoption Services (CAS).

“This is a heartbeat ministry,” BCH President/CEO Michael C. Blackwell shared with those in attendance. “Emmanuel Home is giving courageous birth mothers a glorious opportunity to be partners with God in affirming life with all of us. We are in the business of sharing the hope of God in Jesus Christ and restoring the lives of those who accept Him.”

The new ministry for birth mothers came together through two lead gifts. The residential home was given to BCH in 2021 as an estate planning gift by Thomasville resident Charles Franklin Finch. Once it was determined that the home, which sits directly on the outskirts of BCH’s Mills Home campus in Thomasville, was perfectly located for this new effort, CAS supporters Chris and Darci Horne of Charlotte made a lead financial gift. They donated funds from the sale of a piece of property that was willed to them by a friend from their church whose name was Emmanuel.

Despite the Zambia affair, according to 24sata, one child from DR Congo was adopted and brought to Croatia after the eight were arrested at the beginning of December last year in Zambia.

After eight Croatian citizens ended up in a Zambian prison on suspicion of child trafficking from DR Congo, a woman from central Croatia managed to adopt a child from that country, from the same orphanage, and bring him to Croatia, 24 Hour has learned .

"The woman adopted a child from the same orphanage as the arrested Croats, and the adoption process was identical. The girl she adopted received all Croatian documents," people familiar with the case told 24sata, Telegram reports .

They said that when she saw what happened to the Croats in Zambia, she decided to go directly to DR Congo to get the child. According to the interlocutors involved in the case, the woman gave an African woman a power of attorney to bring her a child from an orphanage. "She went to DR Congo alone to meet her and the child. The African woman in question, who has a company in Croatia, and who had a power of attorney, came to pick her up at the airport in DR Congo," they say.

Then the two of them brought the girl to Croatia. 24sata states that seven more children with Croatian documents are waiting to go to Croatia in the same orphanage.

After eight Croatian citizens ended up in a Zambian prison on suspicion of child trafficking from DR Congo, a woman from central Croatia managed to adopt a child from that country, from the same orphanage, and bring him to Croatia, 24 Hour has learned .

"The woman adopted a child from the same orphanage as the arrested Croats, and the adoption process was identical. The girl she adopted received all Croatian documents," people familiar with the case told 24sata .

An East Coast iwi is partnering with the government to give iwi and local groups more say in decisions about uplifting children.

The move is part of a wider plan to make Oranga Tamariki more community-led, and aims to get iwi and local organisations more involved in interventions from the outset.

Te Ara M?tua is a partnership between the iwi Ng?ti Kahungunu, Oranga Tamariki and local health advocacy group Te Tumu Whakahaere o Te Wero.

It aims to get iwi and local organisations more involved in decision making at the start when wh?nau require intervention.

Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said it was expected there could be a continued reduction in the number of children in care by using community relationships to intervene earlier and more effectively.

I adopted my daughter and her best friend. Then my daughter reunited with her identical twin — separated at birth and raised 9,000 miles apart.

Keely Solimene adopted a Vietnamese girl, and then her best friend.

Then she discovered that one had an identical twin.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Keely Solimene. It has been edited for length and clarity.

A few months after I adopted my two daughters from Vietnam, I found a seemingly innocuous document buried in a pile of paperwork that I planned to sort and put in a cabinet with the other records.