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CENTRAL
AMERICA |
Guatemala To Resume
International Adoptions In June
By Juan Carlos LLorca
GUATEMALA (AP) - International adoptions
will resume in Guatemala this June after a
nearly two-year suspension prompted by the
discovery that some babies were being sold,
officials announced Wednesday.
Four foreign adoption organizations will be
selected to be part of the pilot program,
said the president of the National Adoptions
Council, Elizabeth Hernandez.
Until the door to adoptions slammed shut in
2007, Guatemala was the world's
second-largest source of babies to the
United States after China due to its
routinely quick adoption process.
Authorities suspended adoptions after
discovering evidence some babies had been
stolen, others had fake birth certificates,
and women were being coerced to give up
their children.
At least 25 cases resulted in criminal
charges against doctors, lawyers, mothers
and civil registrars.
As a result, thousands of adoptive parents,
most from the U.S., were forced to put their
adoptions of Guatemalan children on hold —
many after paying thousands of dollars.
Last year, the National Adoptions Council
began requiring birth mothers to personally
verify they still wanted to give up their
children.
Nearly 1,000 of 3,032 cases investigated
were dismissed, however, because no birth
mother showed up. Prosecutors suspect many
of the babies in those cases never existed —
that Guatemalan baby brokers registered
false identities with the council in hopes
of matching them later to babies obtained
through fraud.
There will be a significant difference
between the old and new systems.
Previously, potential adoptive parents
requested children with certain
characteristics. Now, the National Adoptions
Council will simply present a list of
children who are eligible for adoption and
ask that its foreign counterparts find
families who would be best suited for them. |
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