West Palm Beach (JusticeNewsFlash.com) –it seemed to be a normal morning at work for Ana Escobar when four gunmen entered her family’s shoe store and locked her in a closet. When freed, she was face to face with her greatest fear – her sixth month old baby girl was missing. Panic-stricken, she began the fourteen-month search for her infant in various orphanages, hospitals and schools but her efforts were fruitless. Until one day, she spotted a child playing with a woman and in an instant; she knew it was her Esther.
Unfortunately, there could be more cases like Esther’s who was awaiting adoption by a couple in Indiana. Currently the country of Guatemala has 2,286 pending United States adoptions as stated in an article by the Associated Press. Also in that article it was found that “5,000 Guatemalan babies adopted by U.S. couples each year were stolen and sold to baby brokers who worked with doctors and lawyers to create false identities for the children.” Therefore, it is now mandate that each child adopted submit DNA tests if the birth mother claims abduction. Although this could get messy if birth mothers in Guatemala suddenly decide they want their children back after years of exposure to American family life.
It is a traumatic situation for both mothers involved; this is especially so for the American families whom had no previous knowledge that the babies could not be legitimately adopted. Many foster parents pay substantial amounts of money to adopt in addition to invested time and care. Ana is also coping with the pain of losing her daughter for a year and the frequent bouts of rejection Esther displays towards her.
It is imperative that the system of adoptions is modified to include intensive DNA testing as well as background checks of the families involved. There is no room for error, these are children, not commodities.
News contributor. Jana Simard. Staff Reporter for Justice News Flash – Get Legal News Now – Subscribe to our RSS Feeds 
