Coimbatore: The department of social defence and the district-based specialized adoption agency,
Sharanalayam, have warned paediatricians and gynaecologists against probable cases of illegal adoption.
The bodies have asked doctors to keep note of cases where the pregnant woman or mother is under 18-years of age and also about unmarried women coming to the hospital with pregnancy. This comes after the department noticed that the number of abandoned children coming under the system has not increased for more than five years.
Sharanalayam, the only specialized adoption agency in Coimbatore, says the number of abandoned children handed over to them has remained constant at around 15. “While in 2013 we received 17 babies, in 2014 the number went down to 13. The average number of babies has remained at 15 all these years,” said Sharanya Rengaraj of Sharanalayam.
“We doubt if all abandoned babies are handed over to the orphanage, because if the population is increasing then the number of babies being abandoned also should at least marginally increase,” said state probation officer Alfred David. “We want to ensure that all babies being abandoned are handed over to the system and are legally given for adoption,” he added.
Sharanalayam founder Vanitha Rengaraj said that when police come across an illegal adoption case, they immediately take the baby away and hand it over to an orphanage. “In the end, the child suffers psychological trauma after being taken away from parents. We want to eliminate illegal adoptions so that children do not have to suffer,” she told TOI.
Rengaraj narrated how they received a three-year-old boy last year after he was confiscated from a couple, who had illegally adopted him. The incident came to the police’s notice after the couple approached them after a fight. “Police is still unable to trace the baby’s biological parents. The baby can not be given for legal adoption because the case is in court,” she said.
The department believes that doctors can play a crucial role in detecting cases where illegal adoption may happen and can prevent them. “If the doctors come across a case where the mother is in trouble, suspicious people hanging around the family at the hospital, or the girl being under-age, they can counsel the family or at least keep a watch on them,” said David.