Booklets provide guidance on legally handing over babies for adoption

legal donation

Delivery must be made to the Children and Youth Court

The Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Defense of Children and Youth and the Health Department of the Federal District launch this Friday (27) two booklets on the legal delivery of babies for adoption. One of the publications is aimed at pregnant women who express the desire for legal delivery, while the other has content aimed at health professionals who deal with this type of case.

According to the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT), the material was produced in simple and accessible language and highlights that the delivery of babies for adoption must be done before the Children and Youth Court, in order to make rights compatible of the woman and the child. Delivery can even be done confidentially.

The booklets also provide information on legal procedures and the right to repentance, so that women have complete security when expressing themselves about whether or not they wish to become mothers.

Understand

According to the MPDFT, voluntary delivery is a legal action that expresses, in most cases, an act of care and protection for the baby.

“It is also a way of guaranteeing the sexual and reproductive rights of a person who chooses not to be a mother”,

highlighted the body.

The publication aimed at pregnant women who express the desire for voluntary delivery clearly shows the legal provisions and reinforces the associated guarantees for the protection of the mother and child. The booklet also demystifies the most common myths and fears, such as being exposed or even arrested for the decision to give up for adoption and whether it is possible to give up.

“It is worth remembering that the legalized procedure is one assisted by the Courts, that is, it is different from the direct delivery of the baby or child to third parties who are not family members”.

In the booklet model aimed at health professionals, in addition to information on the rights guaranteed by law, guidance is highlighted on the importance of secrecy in delivery; the differentiation of voluntary surrender from abandonment; how to accept the parturient woman’s decision without judgment; how to avoid revictimization and offer psychological support; prenatal and childbirth care; and preparation of a report to be sent to the Children and Youth Court.

“The Child and Youth Court is the place responsible for adoption processes. The Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and the Guardianship Council can collaborate with legal information. All health services (UBS, UPA, hospitals) must provide information and accept the demand for delivery, referring the pregnant woman to the Children and Youth Court.”

What does the law say

Voluntary surrender for adoption is provided for in the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA). Law 13,509/2017 guarantees the right to secrecy of the delivery, the possibility for the mother to take voluntary action to extinguish family power, to receive psychological assistance, to be heard in a court hearing and to withdraw the delivery. Finally, Resolution 485/2023 of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) reinforces that the right to birth confidentiality is guaranteed, including in relation to members of the extended family and the indicated father, even if the pregnant woman is a child or teenager.

Unlike voluntary surrender, infanticide (murder of her own child by the mother, during birth or shortly after, under the influence of the puerperal state), abandonment, sale of children, delivery to third parties without the intermediation of the Child and Youth Justice and the Improper registration of children, known as Brazilian adoption, are crimes.

“According to the Brazilian Penal Code, it is a crime to give someone else’s birth as your own and register someone else’s child as yours. According to the ECA, promising or carrying out the delivery of a child or ward to a third party for payment or reward is also a crime, which also falls on those who help such actions”,

completed the MPDFT.

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