Judge turns down adoption bid, says couple too educated

STAFF WRITER





A highly educated US couple was seeking reconsideration from Taiwanese judges on their adoption of a developmentally delayed baby girl after a Kaohsiung District Court last week rejected their case, fearing the couple would be unsatisfied with the child once she grows up, local media reported.

The Apple Daily reported that the Marks, who both have Harvard doctoral degrees, came to Taiwan to plead with the judges for another chance when the court rejected their adoption of eight-month-old Ju-yi (如意).

The court based their decision on fear the couple, who agreed to adopt the baby without ever spending time with her, could end up being disappointed because of their high educational background.

The judges, however, said the couple were welcome to appeal after spending time with the child.

At a press conference in Kaohsiung on Wednesday in the company of Democratic Progressive Party Councilor Huang Shu-mei (黃淑美), the couple said they decided to adopt when they could not have their own children. The couple saw a picture of the child in July through a Kaohsiung-based charity organization.

Without seeing the baby and after consulting with doctors, the couple agreed to the adoption with full knowledge of her developmental problems.

The couple said their hearts were shattered when the court ruled against them. They were quoted in the report as saying that after spending time with Ju-yi in the last few days, they felt she was an “angel” and desperately wanted to take her home.

Kuo Liang-ling (郭亮伶), the head of the charity organization, said the Marks were the best candidates they had seen and hoped the judges would give them a chance.

Kaohsiung City Bureau of Social Welfare chief Hsu Chuan-sheng (許傳盛) said if not adopted, Ju-yi might end up in an orphanage, adding that adoption by the Marks would be the best arrangement because most Taiwanese do not like adopting developmentally challenged children.

Each year, approximately 3,000 Taiwanese children are adopted, 10 percent of them by foreign families, most from the US.

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