Danish researchers have reported that nearly 1300 hundred babies born in Denmark from 1995 to 2006, using frozen embryos are healthy. Not only are they healthy, but they report that they weigh more than the 18,000 babies conceived by in-vitro fertilization from the fresh embryos do. Researchers believe that their study provides strong evidence that freezing and thawing embryos does not increase risks for an unhealthy child. This seemed to fit today with Angela’s article about Conceive Unnaturally - Genetic Bewilderment.

 Adoption News

While scanning today’s free weekly paper full of local ads, I came across a coupon. Being an avid coupon clipper, I checked it out because it said FREE in large letters. A widow on a fixed social security income must be frugal you know. Especially when raising two teenage foster daughters. Remember that one of them has aged out of foster care and has no income. Call me old-fashioned or tell me I live under a rock. This is the first time I have ever seen a coupon for FREE STD testing. At first, I was stunned and then I clipped it out.

What do Vietnam and Guatemala have in common? Both are included in the top 10 countries for sending the most children to the United States over the years for adoption. Both have been accused of adoption corruption by the United States . Baby selling, pressuring birthmothers into releasing, baby hunts, and bribes were included in the accusations. In response, Vietnam will discontinue adoptions to the United States . Reports say that they will honor applications from families who were matched prior to July 1. They will continue to process those applications. It sounds like any families still waiting for a match

Advocacy
Couple’s thrift store helps orphans from el Salvador
Cambodian orphans melt ex-pat

Adoption Events
Across the nation (major changes to be urges in transracial adoption laws)
Judge: Lisa Novak case can proceed to trial

Parenting
We need to see adoption as a real positive option for children
Silent Sibling - Being the Non-Adopted Child

Tragedy
Pair's bond $350,000 each on endangerment charges
Man to spend time in prison for kidnapping his own children
Singer Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter is struck, killed by car

Several bloggers at Adoption Under One Roof have been following the Claar Foundation adoption fraud accusations. And then these accusations turned into criminal charges.  The CEO, Lisa Novak, was charged with felony fraud and felony theft. The first preliminary hearing was yesterday. They will finish it up Friday.

The goal of these hearings is to see if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Now what I found interesting is Novak's salary. Novak's lawyer

According to this article, a bill has been proposed that would enable a birth mother to claim the federal child tax credit for a child placed for adoption in the year of the child’s birth. House Resolution 6014 (H.R. 6014) would not prevent the adoptive parents from also taking the same federal child tax credit for the same child in the same year. You can read the full text of H.R. 6014 here. Type "Birthmother Assistance Act of 2008" in the Search field.

My first reaction to this news was bafflement. My son’s birth mother only had physical custody of her birth son for the two days that he was in the hospital, so there were no parenting expenses involved.