Family changes adoption laws

Family changes adoption laws

30/May/2009 

By Belinda Chaplin with Molly Petersen McDonald

"As long as we live, we will never forget December 21, 2007. It was the day we met our beautiful daughter, Emma Estera, for the very first time." Even now, over a year later, Aaron and Ana Stafford recall the day like it was yesterday. "She was then 8 months old. Emma was abandoned at birth by her birth mother. She was moved to three different hospitals and at 2 months old she was placed in a foster home where she remained for six months."

Emma is one of the lucky ones, of the estimated 4,000 children abandoned each year in Romania, Aaron and Ana, staff of YWAM Cluj-Napoca, Romania, adopted her.

"One of the first things we noticed when we walked in the foster home was that there were no toys and when we handed Emma the toy we had gotten her she had a hard time holding it and knowing what to do with it," Aaron recalled.

In the foster home where Emma began her life she was left to lay on her back 24 hours a day with no stimulation and no affection. Just months old, Emma learned that crying would not get her needs met. It would be weeks after the Stafford's brought her home before they heard her cry. It was clear the neglect had stunted her development. At 8 months old, she was unable to hold her head up properly, or support her back and had no strength in her arms or legs.

Though Emma's body is still healing, her improvement has been great, but it's not just her life that has changed. "Emma has enriched our lives and blessed us beyond words. Emma is a happy baby now and we are happier than words can express to have her. What an honor to have been chosen by God to be her parents! What an incredible gift!" said Ana.

The Stafford's did not stop there though. While going through the adoption process, the archaic laws of the Romanian adoption system astounded them. And so with a group of 17 other adoptive parents by their sides, they decided to take action, and sued the government to change the law. The lawsuit targeted an act that gave the birth parents a right to know who the adoptive parents are, even if the adoptive parents wanted a "closed" adoption. In Romania this has often led to the adoptive parents being held hostage by the birth parents, who expect to be paid a bribe for their children.

"After Emma had been with us for five months, the Supreme Court of Romania voted to make all adoptions 'open.' In Romanian culture, this opened a doorway to bribery for birth parents to extort funds from adoptive parents by threatening to take back the child. Emma's birth parents now had access to all our personal information such as our home address, phone numbers, photos and more. The possibility of losing her over money was devastating," explained Aaron.

The group of parents created a legal document stating that the law violated adoptive parents' rights to confidentiality, compromised their safety and was in conflict with the European Union's laws of adoption. After many weeks of determination and prayer, the Romanian government miraculously overturned the Court's decision. The amendment was enacted, keeping personal information private and protecting the adoptive parents from having to come in contact with the birth families at any given time during the adoption process and after.

While this was a great victory, there are still other adoption laws that hurt Romanian children, such as the law that allows birth parents to change their minds regarding adoption, even years after the child has been placed in their new home.

"Because of laws like this we will continue to fight Romanian adoption laws until they are in the best interest of the children in need of restoration, love and healing," said Ana and Aaron, more determined than ever to protect children like their daughter.