Actor, singer and theatre maker Joy Wielkens has a father wound: she grew up without her father and only met him years later. That turned out differently than she had hoped. 

“In 2011 I made a performance about my father:  Papa was a rollin'… nobody. It was my third solo after  Negra in 2009 about the search for my black identity. They were all autobiographical performances, but the last one went a step further. It was about my fatherless youth, but there was also a kind of hope in it: that my father might be in the audience one day and come to me afterwards.”

No regrets

“That never happened, but I did find him and meet him a year later, in 2012. The first time I saw him, under the supervision of a social worker, was a disappointment. I don’t regret meeting my father, but it didn’t go as I had hoped and it certainly wasn’t the perfect picture. I thought he was a horrible man. He only talked about himself and the highlights of his life.”

As the war on reproductive rights rages on, I can’t help but think of the battleground that both sides of the aisle have already conceded, the demilitarized zone of the reproductive rights conflict: adoption.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, typically filled with heartwarming stories of children finding their “forever families.” Judges often refer to adoption proceedings as “the happiest day in court,” while politicians view it as a universally agreeable policy solution to unplanned pregnancies. But adoption is not the neutral area that we unquestioningly believe it to be—especially not for those like me, who, at 22 years old in my Indiana hometown, sat in panicked disbelief, staring at two pink lines that would alter the course of my life forever.

Fresh out of college, with no support from my baby’s father and still relying on my parents, I was thrust into a world of limited options and impossible choices. With abortion no longer an option and single motherhood feeling insurmountable and shameful under the weight of a conservative and religious mental framework, I turned to adoption.

Momentarily, I felt relief, believing it would solve my “problem” and maybe even redeem me from the perceived sin of premarital sex. Little did I know that choosing what society labels “the loving option” would expose me to an unregulated industry rife with predation.

Gago = Head of Cabinet DG EMPL

Selmayr = Head of Cabinet DG JUSTICE

Le Bail = Director General DG JUSTICE

Mordue = Head of Cabinet DG ENLARGEMENTT (NEAR)

Korte = Director General (acting) DG ENLARGEMENT/NEAR

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The podcast series 'Falske Minder' reveals that a Danish adoption agency was involved in bribery and child trafficking in Lebanon in the 1980s.

"Sick", "scandalous" and "absolutely heartbreaking".

This is how social spokespeople from both the right and left describe the content of a new DR podcast series 'Falske Minder'.

The podcast tells the story of a series of adoptions from Lebanon to Denmark in the 1980s, which, according to experts, occurred through bribery or "outright child trafficking" .

A senior employee at the Danish embassy informed an adoption agency, among other things, about bribery, experts estimate.

The Danish embassy in Lebanon and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs were involved in controversial adoptions in the 1980s, where Lebanese children came to Denmark.

This is the assessment of several experts after reading correspondence between a Danish adoption agency and several high-ranking employees at the embassy.

DR was able to reveal yesterday that the adoption agency AC Børnehjælp has in some cases used bribes to get adoptions from Lebanon through - including through donations. In other cases, according to experts, the children were directly trafficked.

Several adoptive families criticize the Family Court for not preparing them for the risk of repeated lawsuits against the children's biological parents.

Imagine that you adopt a child. A child that you have to provide care and security for, while also having to hold meetings in the Family Court, hire a lawyer and conduct legal proceedings because the child's biological parents want visitation.

As TV2 ØST has previously reported , this is the situation of a woman from Zealand who in 2023 adopted a forcibly adopted Danish child. 

"I never imagined that I would have contact with the legal system and that I would have to hire a lawyer. I've never done that before," says Julie. 

Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government at the Centre of cancelling December 25 (Christmas Day) as a holiday. 

She claimed that earlier it was announced as a holiday but the present government at the Centre cancelled it. 

Banerjee raised the same issue while speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Kolkata Christmas Festival’ at Allen Park and later at St Xavier’s College where she attended pre-Christmas celebrations. 

“December 25 was earlier announced as a national holiday. The current government at the Centre has cancelled it. Our state observes a holiday on December 25,” she said.

The Chief Minister also expressed shock at Union Home minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks about BR Ambedkar. 

“I am shocked at the comments made about Babasaheb Ambedkar,” she said. 

SRINAGAR: India has seen a steady outflow of children being adopted internationally, with a total of 4,963 children adopted by foreign families over the past decade. These adoptions span across 41 countries, with the United States leading the list with 2,031 adoptions, followed by Italy with 1,029 and the United Kingdom with 73. Other countries with notable adoption numbers include Malta (215), France (144), and Belgium (42).

The latest data, released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, highlights the increasing global interest in Indian children for adoption. Countries like Australia, Canada, and Spain have also seen a significant number of adoptions, with 7, 193, and 517 respectively. Smaller numbers of children have been adopted by families from countries such as Bahrain, Brazil, and Nigeria, among others.

The government has ensured that child welfare remains a priority by strengthening child protection laws, including the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Adoption Regulations, 2022. These regulations mandate that Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) be inspected annually by state governments to maintain high standards of child protection.

As per government reports, no complaints of improper upbringing or exploitation of adopted children have been received, further assuring that the adoption process remains secure and in line with international child protection standards.

TULSA, Okla. — A federal grand jury indicted an Ottawa County couple on allegations they physically abused their 15-year-old mentally challenged adopted son with a stun gun.

Jennifer Enyart, 44, and her husband Keith, 52, are charged with child neglect and child abuse in Indian Country, and Jennifer faces an additional charge of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm for allegedly using a stun gun on their son’s genitals.

Medical reports show several of the child’s injuries were consistent with the use of a “taser or stun gun,” court records show. The medical report concluded the teen’s injuries were “likely the result of child abuse.”

The Wyandotte couple is accused of failing to provide appropriate medical care and supervision to protect a child under their care.

Keith Enyart is a member of the Wyandotte Nation. Both are free on a signature bond, as online court records show.  The couple was also ordered not to be around the victim and his three siblings and can only have supervised visitation with their other three children.