Friday, June 25, 2010

Warrant Issued for Refusing to Give Away Your Child?!

WHAT?

Yes!

Hammond Woman Sought In Adoption Scheme

Mother Refused To Turn Over Newborn Baby

Tangipahoa Parish sheriff's deputies say they are looking for a 30-year-old Hammond woman accused of collecting expenses in an adoption arrangement, then refusing to turn over the baby. According to an arrest warrant,
30-year-old Jennifer Harrod allegedly signed a contract Jan. 15 with an adoption agency to give up her unborn child for adoption.
As part of the contract, deputies said she was paid for living and medical expenses until the infant was born.The Advocate reports deputies obtained a warrant for theft by fraud for Harrod's arrest.

According to this bried news story:

1) A contract for a baby in exchange for payment of medical expenses is not illegal

2) A mother choosing to riase her child is

Reminds me of the old backwards skits on MTV...the whole world of adoption is spɹɐʍʞɔɐq puɐ uʍop ǝpısdn (upside down and backwards!)

 Jennifer's MySpace page says she brought her baby home on April 19. Jennifer lists her ethnicity as Native American and identifies herself as a "Proud Parent."

5 comments:

Von said...

Always was always will be.What a sad and weird story.

Anonymous said...

I agree that an expectant mother who has indicated she wishes to place should always be able to change her mind and parent her child, but there is more to this particular story. See http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12697840.

"In early March, the adoptive family hired a private investigator after becoming suspicious of Harrod. The investigator learned that Harrod gave birth on March 17th.

Records show that Harrod continued to accept money after the birth of the child. She allegedly said that she had no intentions of putting the baby up for adoption.

According to Sheriff Daniel Edwards, Harrod continued to pose as though she was still pregnant on March 31st by stuffing a pillow under her shirt when she visited the adoption agency's attorney's office. Harrod has been spotted with an infant since March 17th."

Mirah Riben said...

Thanks, Minivan...

I am not surprised that there was a LOT left out of the very news story.

However reading the article you sent the link to, it still says:

"According to reports, Jennifer Harrod, 30, entered a contract in mid-January with an adoption agency and agreed to give up her baby after she gave birth. As part of the contract, she was given money for living expenses and doctor's visits until the baby was to be born."

She may or may not have committed fraud, but it is illegal to sign any "contract" to exchange payment for a child! It's called baby selling. It is also illegal to sign anything agreeing to relinquish a child for adoption prior to the birth of said child.

Bottom line: Get all the money out of adoption and you stop all the scams. We have a climate now in which the line between baby selling and legal adoption has been erased. This is just one negative side effect of the lack of regulation in the adoption industry which is demand driven.

Anonymous said...

If this is considered THEFT, by taking money and not exchanging the "goods" (the baby), then it is HUMAN TRAFFICKING aka the selling of a human being. OMFG!!!!! Isn't the outright selling of a human being illegal in the US? Adoption agencies have completely blurred those lines, haven't they?

Mirah Riben said...

I hope the agency name is revealed.

RussiaToday Apr 29, 2010 on Russian Adoption Freeze

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