April 2019

April 30, 2019. Two Attorneys General Move To Shutdown a Surrgacy Operation. The attorneys generals of Florida and Maryland have moved to close Florida based The Surrogacy Group. This outfit, which has received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau allegedly defrauded both intended parents and surrogates. Moreover, it is still operating as a corporation even though it was dissolved last year. We strongly urge anyone who chooses adoption or surrogacy to do their research including insisting on speaking to other families or surrogates who have worked with the potential provider during the last eighteen months. More Information.

April 29, 2019. Third Circuit Denies Preliminary Injunction in Philadelphia Social Services Case. Last week, the Federal Appellate Court handed down an important ruling in n a case which pitted Catholic Social Services against the city of Philadelphia. CSS had refused to certify same-sex couples as foster parents because such a certification would violate its religious views, although the City's Fair Practices Ordinance prohibits such discrimination. In denying the injunction which CSS sought on the basis that the Philadelphia ordinance violates the Constitution's free exercise clause, the Court stated that while "religious belief is always protected, religiously motivated conduct enjoys no special protections or exemption from general, neutrally applied legal requirements." To read the entire ruling, please click here.

April 25, 2019. Honduras Ratifies the Hague Convention The Department of State has announced that "on March 6, 2019, Honduras ratified the Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption Convention (Hague Adoption Convention.) The Convention will enter into force for Honduras on July 1, 2019. The Department is determining if the United States may process Convention adoptions with Honduras pursuant to U.S. law." By this last statement DOS is warning the adoption community that it does not automatically accept that a country has met its Hague obligations. Rather DOS will now evaluate Honduras' procedures to ascertain if the procedures meet DOS' interpretation of the Hague Convention. For that reason, families considering adopting from Honduras should consult with their adoption service provider as to whether they should proceed at this time. More Information.

April 24, 2019. Another Case of Secret Siblings. In a familiar fact pattern, a number of Dutch adults have found out that they are half siblings because their mother's fertility doctor used his own sperm to impregnate patients. Dr. Jan Karbaat, who died two years ago, helped over 6,000 women have more than 10,000 children through his long career. According to the Defence for Children organization, which represents parents and children who were Karbaat's patients, at least 49 adults have found that they are half siblings. Dr. Karbaat probably did not envision DNA home testing kits. To read the article, please click here.

April 23, 2019. The Tens of Millions of Missing Women. A Singapore research team has found that gender bias and China's one child policy have left 11.9 million women missing from China and 10.6 million missing from India. The peak year of China's gender bias-linked discrepancy was 2005 when its birth sex ratio was 118 males born for every 100 girls. The normal ratio is 102 males for every 100 women. Male children have traditionally been favored in Asian society but for the Chinese population has been manipulated by the government since 1949, when the Communist government took over. Between 1950 and 1960, Mao's encouragement to the populace to have large families led to 200 million births, a figure equal to one third of the Chinese population in 1949. In 1973 the Chinese government changed course and imposed a draconian one-child policy which remained in effect until recently. More Information.

April 22, 2019. Guyana Accedes To the Hague. The Department of State announced today that the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption will be effective regarding adoptions from Guyana on June 1, 2019. DOS currently "is determining if the United States may process Convention adoptions with Guyana pursuant to U.S. law." Guyana will be the 100th nation to join the Hague Convention which became effective as respects the United States 11 years ago this month. In 2017, 22 children were adopted from Guyana to the United States. To read more, please click here.

April 18, 2019. Department of State to Issue New Regulations on International Adoption. The Office of Children's Issues of the Department of State has served notice that it will be issuing new regulations pertaining to international adoption in the very near future. We understand that draft regulations are already circulating among Departments. Readers of this column may remember that previous DOS regulation, were issued for comment in the autumn of 2016 but then were withdrawn, following extensive (and negative) comments from stakeholders, adoption service providers and families.

April 15, 2019. Vancouver Island's Last Adoption Agency Closes. Citing the declining number of international adoptions, Vancouver's only adoption agency, Choices Adoption and Pregnancy Counselling, is shutting its doors. The drastic fall in international adoptions has driven many adoption agencies out of business. In turn the cascade of closures results in worse services for potential adoptive parents which makes international adoption less safe for children which leads to more failed adoptions. To read about how the closure has affected a Canadian family, please click here.

April 10, 2019. New York State Debates Child - Parent Security Act. New York legislators are debating a new bill which would definitely alter the New York assisted reproductive technology legal landscape. The proposed legislation would accomplish two main goals: it would clarify and protect parental rights when a sperm donor, egg donor, or embryo donor is involved in conception, and it would legalize compensation for gestational surrogacy for the first time in New York. To read more about the bill, which has the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo, please click here.

April 9, 2019. Department of State Updates Many Country Pages. The Department of State announced today that it has updated the country pages for 20 countries which include Belarus, Estonia, Moldova, South Korea and Zambia. The statistical information on the country pages, however, has not yet been updated. To access these new country pages, please click here.

April 4, 2019. Article Assesses Condition of International Adoption. Author Jayme Metzgar has written a passionate article decrying the perilous state of international adoption to the United States. Titled "New Report Shows International Adoption Edging Closer to Extinction," this article attributes much of the blame for the catastrophic decline of international adoption to overregulation. Anyone interested should read this article to assess this dismal situation.

April 3, 2019. A Story With A Happy Ending. Liz Smith, Director of Nursing at a Massachusetts hospital, met baby Gisele two years ago. Gisele, who was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome because her birth mother had used heroine, cocaine and methadone during pregnancy, was a ward of the state. Gisele was developmentally delayed and needed extensive hospital care, for her weakened lungs and a feeding tube. No one ever visited Gisele except Ms. Smith who spent long hours with her. Gisele's birth parents lost their parental rights and Gisele was placed in foster care, with Ms. Smith, who successfully sought to adopt her. Fast forward 553 days and Gisele is now the adopted daughter of Liz Smith. To read this story, please click here.

April 2, 2012. "I Was Adopted, My Friend Was Not." Please read this moving article written by Ming Canaday, a young woman who was adopted from China as a pre-teen. Ming and her friend Chunchun both had polio and scoliosis. Once in the United States Ming had the necessary surgeries and therapy to thrive - she is now getting her Master's degree at the London School of Economics. Chunchun was not as fortunate. She never was sent to school, has gotten progressively more disabled and lives in a Chinese welfare institution. To read the article, please click here.