In a case that demonstrates the degree to which legal confusion can derail an international adoption, a North Carolina couple who traveled to Egypt to adopt twin boys have instead been arrested and put on trial for alleged child trafficking.

According to a May 13 Associated Press article, Iris Botros and Louis Andros attempted to adopt in the United States, but a number of factors including Andros' age (he is 70, she is 40) prevented them from doing so. AP writers Anna Johnson and Maggie Michael provided the following details of the events surrounding the couple's arrest:

In Muslim countries like Egypt, such adoptions are nearly impossible, snarled in religious tradition and murky laws. Botros and Andros ... also may have been caught up in an attempt by the Egyptian government to show it is cracking down on human trafficking after criticism from the United States.

On the advice of Egyptian friends, the two traveled to Cairo in the fall and were put in touch with a Coptic Christian orphanage that was caring for two newborn orphans. The orphanage gave them forged documents to say Botros had given birth to the children, and the couple donated $4,600 to the orphanage ...

But when they tried to get American passports for the babies, a U.S. Embassy employee became suspicious of them ... When asked by an embassy official, Botros admitted she wasn't the biological mother, [the couple's] lawyer said.

"Adoption experts said the case highlights the importance of being well-informed and working with governments and reputable agencies to make sure laws and social norms are followed," the AP writers reported.

Labels: international, laws, adoption rights

Posted By: Aspen/CRC