ADA News (English)

The situation with the PGN and the CNA is getting worse every day. The interviews to the birth mothers have no legal grounds, but their misinterpretation of article 57 of the Adoption Law gives them the excuse to drag the birth mothers to the PGN for interviews where they have to confirm their willingness to the adoption, even though the same article says that the verification of the situation of the children SUBJECTED TO SUCH LAW, which is very different of the cases being grandfathered, should be done by them WITHIN THIRTY DAYS of the law becoming effective, that is to say, that the time to do it was the same period given to the notaries to register the in process adoptions in order to be grandfathered, which ended on February 12 of this year. So even if it was their duty to verify the situation of the children, doing it NOW is illegal, because the time to do it is long expired.

We know of a case where the birthmother expressed at her interview, in very clear terms that she wanted the adoption to be finalized, but the PGN took her child and sent him to a hogar, no explanations given. In other case, the birthmother expressed her desire to keep her children and they were given to her, right there. Even though we are not advocating for adoptions being finalized against the will of the birth mother, we cannot support a system of intimidating the birth mothers to such extent as to make them claim back the children that they voluntarily relinquished many months before. Today six children were taken by the CNA for no legal reasons.

The website of the CNA is an admission of guilt, and at the same time, a display of how untruthful they can be, when we all know that their intentions never were to protect the children but to try to steal the work they did not do. The last paragraph is self explanatory: no lawyers or notaries are needed to do an adoption with them, but they do not disclose the little detail that the Adoptions Law allows the CNA to charge foreign adoptive parents for their adoptions. Elizabeth Hernandez de Larios has been quoted in the newspapers saying that currently the lawyers charge the foreign parents up to sixty five thousand dollars for each adoption, which she very well knows that it is not true.

Two of the directors of the CNN traveled on Sunday to Washington, in a trip of six days, paid by the US embassy, according to a note published today by Siglo Veintiuno, page 6. In view of the role that the CNA has taken with the grandfathered cases, it looks more as a reward to them from the US DOS than an attempt to stop the abuses to the birth mothers by the CNA. One of the directors, Norma Elizabeth Robles Avila is the sister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Elizabeth Hernandez de Larios is the wife of the chief of staff of President Colom. Their trip includes visits with private adoption agencies, who are looking to establish a working relationship with the CNA.

If the real intention of the birthmother interviews were to identify the girls that supposedly were stolen to three women, it is unforgivable that the CNA/PGN are delaying the release of the adoptions of boys and of older girls. It more and more looks as if the CNA is trying to derail the notarial adoptions for a purpose and the PGN and the US DOS are their accomplices. The adoptive parents entered into those adoptions in good faith and the birthmothers and legal guardians of the children gave their consent to them. The formalities of the adoption process have fulfilled and all the PGN can do is to give its approval and release the files. The notaries have their hands tied, because if the amparo that is ready to be filed is dismissed, that will strengthen the position of the CAN/PGN and the US embassy will continue with its hands off approach of the situation. For that reason, the birthmothers and the children have been taken to the PGN by the notaries, to be verbally abused by the people interviewing them, who have the audacity to offer the birthmothers a monthly stipend if they take the child back. The notaries have to be at the PGN but are not allowed to witness the interview. Even strong women have left humiliated and in tears after they were interviewed.

The respect of the law no longer exists. The CNA and the PGN are making up their own rules in the so-called best interest of the child, hurting as many children, birth mothers and adoptive parents as possible. You must report this to your Congressmen and Senators, because if the US DOS is not supporting the abuses of the CNA/PGN, by consenting to them and paying trips to the perpetrators are as guilty as them.