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Dead Baby Scam
Several mothers of newborns report that they were falsely
informed of the death of their baby. With the mother out of
the picture, the baby was then free for adoption. The
mother's signature may have been attached to an essential
document by misinforming her of its nature, or by taking
advantage of a woman's reduced capacity in the days
following childbirth.
The following text comes from a United Nations report
(in pdf), Violence Against Women.
Canada
20. By a letter dated 13 August 2002, sent jointly
with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography, the Special Rapporteur
advised the Government that she had received information
concerning fraudulent adoption practices and violence
against unmarried women. The allegations involved staff
at the Mount Sinai Hospital, the Victor Home for Unwed
Mothers, Women's College Hospital (now Sunnybrook and
Women's) and the Catholic Childrens' Aid Society (CCAS).
In particular, the Special Rapporteur received information
on the following cases.
21. Tina Kelly (current surname), a French Canadian,
reportedly gave birth to a son on 28 March 1970 at Mount
Sinai Hospital. Although she was unmarried, she intended
to keep the baby. The following day, her family doctor,
Dr. Glick, reportedly told her that her baby had died
during the night due to heart trouble. She was allegedly
not allowed to see her baby's body, but Dr. Glick
reportedly agreed to make arrangements with the CCAS for
its baptism and burial. During her stay in the hospital,
Ms. Kelly was reportedly heavily drugged and on 31 March
1970, a social worker from the CCAS allegedly asked Ms.
Kelly to sign a document. Ms. Kelly, who reportedly had
limited knowledge of English, believed she was signing a
document to baptize her dead baby. In 1995, upon receipt
of a copy of her recently deceased father's death
certificate Ms. Kelly realized that she had never
received a copy of her child's death certificate. When
she requested a copy from Mount Sinai Hospital, she was
reportedly told that the records stated that her son was
born healthy and had gone home with her. After
questioning staff at the CCAS, Ms. Kelly allegedly
discovered that the CCAS had put him up for adoption and
that Dr Glick had accepted a bribe to take him. It is
alleged that the Toronto Police have refused to take
action in regard to this case.
22. In May 1978, doctors at the Women's College
Hospital Prenatal Clinic allegedly told Erica, then seven
months pregnant, that her baby was dead and that she was
in labour. She was allegedly sent home to deliver the
dead child after the doctors noticed that she was from the
Victor Home for Unwed Mothers. Two other women living in
the home, Cathy Henderson and Peggy, reportedly delivered
the dead baby. Their complaints to the Women's College
Hospital were reportedly ignored and they were allegedly
insulted.
23. Cathy Henderson (previously known as Cathy
Saltmarsh), allegedly suffered both physical and
psychological abuse by staff in the Women's College
Hospital during the birth of her child in June 1978.
While in labour, she was reportedly thrown against the
wall of the preparation room by a nurse. She was
allegedly called a whore by one of the nurses and told
that the CCAS had paid to have her baby taken from her.
The nurse then reportedly repeatedly cut her genitals, it
is reported that doctors now estimate that she had been
cut over 30 times during this incident. Her delivery
doctor tried to suture the slashes, but allegedly did not
record the incident in Ms. Henderson's medical file and
has tried to cover it up. After giving birth, Ms.
Henderson was reportedly given an injection to dry up her
milk without her consent. Ms. Henderson's son was
allegedly given up for adoption without her consent.
During her stay at the hospital, she was reportedly given
drugs without being told what they were for, and before
leaving the hospital she signed what she believed to be a
temporary non-ward foster care agreement. According to
reports she did not have access to a lawyer and was told
by her CCAS social worker that she must sign the document
if she wanted to keep her son. She allegedly later
discovered that the agreement to short-term non-ward care
had been terminated without her consent or knowledge.
24. Also in June 1978, Lilli Corhonen, then aged 15,
reportedly suffered similar psychological and physical
abuse while in the Women's College Hospital giving birth
to her child. After the birth, the delivering doctor
reportedly decided to "punish" her by shoving her hand
into Ms. Corhonen's womb and punching it a number of
times. This incident was reportedly not recorded, and the
hospital allegedly denies that it happened. It is
reported that when she tried to complain she was insulted
and told that no one would believe her.
25. According to information received, Ms. Corhonen
and Ms. Henderson wrote to Women's College Hospital in
2000 and again in April 2001 to reiterate their complaints
about the abuse. The hospital reportedly claimed that
there was no evidence of any abuse and that it was too
late to carry out an investigation.
According to Cathy Henderson, there are many more victims
of the dead baby scam. In Ontario, the ADR (Adoption
Disclosure Register) will not help a family that has
published a complaint about them, limiting the number of
mothers willing to go public. An earlier incorrect version
of this paragraph said that the UN bullied the mothers in
this way. Her exact statement was:
If the ADR finds out you complain about them, they will
NOT look for your family as a form of punishment. That is
why there are only 3 names published - they are friends of
mine which I managed to persuade to do so.
Dr Daniel Glick was
disciplined by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario for fees charged for hypnotherapy. There is no
record of action on the dead baby incidents.
A UN Report from the Committee on the Rights of the Child (in
pdf) dated October 27, 2003 supports a statist agenda
for the protection of children. Nowhere does it suggest
helping children by strengthening the rights of their
parents. Ontario is one of the offending provinces in
the following paragraphs suggesting open records, a
measure favored by reformers of all points of view:
Adoption
30. The Committee is encouraged by the priority
accorded by the State party to promoting the Hague
Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation
in Respect of Intercountry Adoption of 1993 in Canada and
abroad. However, the Committee notes that while adoption
falls within the jurisdiction of the provinces and
territories, the ratification of the Hague Convention has
not been followed up by legal and other appropriate
measures in all provinces. The Committee is also
concerned that certain provinces do not recognize the
right of an adopted child to know, as far as possible,
her/his biological parents (art. 7).
31. The Committee recommends that the State party
consider amending its legislation to ensure that
information about the date and place of birth of adopted
children and their biological parents are preserved and
made available to these children. Furthermore, the
Committee recommends that the Federal Government ensure
the full implementation of The Hague Convention on the
Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption of 1993 throughout its
territory.
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