Continued from here.

Bill 3217, also known as the Ortega Law, is the “baby” of UNICEF, the US DOS, The Hague Conference and President Oscar Berger and his wife Wendy. Originally it had a grandfather clause and allowed the notarial process, however last month the Hague Conference’s team of “experts” (and I use that term loosely) introduced many amendments that eliminated the grandfather clause, the notarial process, the relinquishment by the parents, and foster care for children. This would be a complete disaster for the children who would have to wait for years before they can be adopted. With the orphanges in Guatemala already full and the government not making any effort to prepare homes and services for these children, their futures are horribly bleak. I would also like to remind my readers that Guatemala will receive 28 million dollars from UNICEF if they implement this bill. As I mentioned in my previous blog, next week an amendment to grandfather adoptions in process will be introduced in the Guatemalan congress.

Susana Luarca of the ADA writes this about the Ortega Law:

We believe that the key to improve the Guatemalan adoption legal system is not to impose a treaty that not only Guatemala cannot legally become a party to, but that has proven to produce the exact opposite effect of what it should. Instead of protecting the children and their families in an adoption process, it makes adoption something so difficult that they are reduced to a few, while the number of aborted, mistreated, abandoned and abused children increase tremendously.

A second proposal, Bill 3635, was put forth by the Guatemalan congress. One major downside is that it makes the relinquishing process very difficult for the birth mothers. Only after interviews with psychologists, social workers, and a member of the central authority as well as a judge are they able to put their child up for adoption. In addition, it will be harder for singles to adopt. However, this proposal doesn’t appoint PGN, the Secretary of Social Welfare or the office of the wife of the president as the central authority over adoption.

As explained by Susana Luarca:

“The central authority would be an autonomous entity, whose board of directors would be seven delegates of the following: one for each of the three powers, one for the PGN, one for the Secretary of Social Welfare, one for the Human Rights Office, one for the Guatemalan Bar Association and one for the Guatemalan Medical Association.”

Amendments can be made to tweak this bill, but it appears that it is going to fall by the wayside.

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