Foreign Correspondent 2015 06 23 India About A Boy 360p LDTV WEBRIP

Foreign.Correspondent.2015.06.23.India.About.A.Boy.360p.LDTV.WEBRIP
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About a Boy... Foreign Correspondent goes in search of a baby boy who was born via surrogacy in India but left behind by his Australian parents. Samantha Hawley reports.





abc.net.au/foreign/content/2015/s4260667.htm

The decision of the Australian adoptive parents shocked senior Australian judges interviewed by Foreign Correspondent.

"It's a criminal offence in many places. I think it's an appalling thing." - Australian judge

The extraordinary case of the twin boy left behind in India was first revealed by Foreign Correspondent and ABC News earlier this year. But his identity and fate have stayed a mystery.

"Was the child sold? Was the child left on the street? What has happened to the child?" - Australian judge

"Whether he's been placed in a rich, well to do family where he gets every amenity, we don't know." - Arun Dohle, child protection advocate

Reporter Samantha Hawley teams up with two Indian child protection campaigners as they weave through Delhi's labyrinthine bureaucracy and backstreets on a hunt for the twins' birth records, the boy's adoption papers and details of the surrogate mother and Australian parents.

Hawley reveals how the case worried Australian consular officials in Delhi. Australian High Commission staff tried desperately to persuade the Australian family to take both twins back home.

But Canberra sent approval for citizenship and a single passport to be given to just one child - the girl - despite international commercial surrogacy being outlawed in the Australian parents' home state.

"I would describe it as aiding and abetting the Australian couple abandoning the child." - senior New Delhi lawyer Shekhar Naphade

"We have done everything legal." - Australian father of the boy left behind

In this tragic story about one baby boy who became the by-product of an unruly $500 million industry, two leading judges tell Foreign Correspondent it's now time for the Australian Government to take a lead in reforming the system.

NOTE:

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can provide the following general information which is a matter for the public record:

"The involvement by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi was limited to assessing the application by the Australian couple for citizenship and, subsequently a passport, for the female child. As no application for Australian citizenship or passport or was made for the male child at the time, India became responsible for his welfare and adoption arrangements became a matter for its legal system. Australian officials at the High Commission have no concerns regarding the legality of the adoption in India. Personal information collected by DFAT [for one purpose] cannot be used or disclosed [for another purpose] unless otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act."

Matters relating to Australian Citizenship should be referred to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.