Women whose newborn babies were forcibly taken for adoption want to be included in today’s national apology for abuse in care. The final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in care found forced adoptions were often organised by church institutions, state social workers, and medical professionals. Commissioners found many women were either Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Adoption’
Mothers want forced adoptions included in national apology to abuse in care survivors
Thursday, November 14th, 2024Adopted daughter assaulted at child’s christening for passing on family name
Monday, June 20th, 2022Matalena Sowman assaulted her adopted daughter in church, as she was christening her son, for giving the child the Sowman family name. The 55-year-old Blenheim woman approached her daughter who had been standing at the front of the church, stood in front of her then took her infant son and passed the baby to someone Read more
Feedback sought on New Zealand’s surrogacy laws
Monday, August 9th, 2021
The Law Commission is reviewing New Zealand’s surrogacy laws. Instigated by former Justice Minister Andrew Little, the Commission is recommending a new pathway to parenthood that doesn’t require adoption for parents of a surrogate-born child. At last week’s launch of Kōpū Whāngai: He Arotake – Review of Surrogacy, the Commission said it is seeking feedback Read more
Religious freedom, hate speech, adoption, child abuse
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Same-sex adoption, religious freedoms and child-abuse petitions are before Parliament at the moment. Reforming law in relation to hate speech offences is also on the agenda. If the hate speech law passes, offenders will face a larger maximum sentence than if they were found guilty of rioting, assaulting a child or providing explosives to commit Read more
As a teen, I chose adoption. Why are stories like mine missing from the abortion debate?
Monday, December 7th, 2020
I would rather jump through a glass window than talk to literally anyone about reproductive politics. Given the choice between a very normal and appropriate conversation about reproductive politics and a glass window, I will be in the bushes out front, picking glass out of my torso. That is because when I was 17 I Read more
Calls to change ‘outdated’ adoption law in New Zealand
Monday, March 23rd, 2020There are renewed calls to change New Zealand’s “outdated” adoption law which has been described as “discriminatory and not fit for purpose”. The Adoption Act – which has not been updated since 1955, has been criticised by the Human Rights Commission, which wants to make the adoption process more accessible for people and relevant to Read more
The sacramentality of adoption
Thursday, December 6th, 2018
One of the radical insights of the Second Vatican Council is the salvific character of married life. Marriage is not a secondary vocation for those who are not strong enough to embrace celibacy, but instead offers an icon of love that the entire church is called to contemplate. The married couple’s self-gift, embodied in the Read more
Missionaries of Charity childcare homes scrutinised after baby sale
Thursday, July 19th, 2018
Childcare homes run by the Missionaries of Charity in India will be inspected after employees at one shelter were accused of selling babies for adoption. Sister Konsalia Balsa and social worker Anima Indwar were arrested after allegedly trying to sell a baby for UK£1,325 (about NZ$2,500). They have also been accused of having already sold Read more
Same sex couple adopt Catholic child despite opposition
Monday, March 27th, 2017
A same sex couple from New South Wales have had their wish to adopt a four-year old Catholic child granted despite opposition from the child’s parents. The child will not be raised in the Catholic faith. Both the child’s birth parents are Catholics. The child was removed from her mother’s care when she was only Read more
Forced adoptions for 30 years prompt Catholic apology
Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
Forced adoptions in England and Wales saw more than half a million women forced lose their babies in the 30 years following World War II. Similar experiences have been recorded in other parts of the world, including Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The Catholic Church was not alone in its zeal to remove babies from Read more