Policy
On June 26 , 2018 , a newborn baby boy wrapped in a bath towel inside a basket and with its umbilical cord still attached to it was found abandoned on the doorstep of a home in Dededo . The mother was eventually convicted of child abuse .
It may not be a run-of-the-mill story in a small island that takes pride in its reputation as a family-oriented community but the incident raised an alarm . Abandonment of newborns doesn ’ t often make headlines on Guam and statistics are not readily available . However , hushed anecdotes about mothers relinquishing their infants are being passed around in whispers . The shame and stigma attached to such a decision naturally make it an uncomfortable subject to talk about . Some mothers are forced to give up their newborns due to financial hardships , homelessness or inability to raise a family .
The sole doctor who performed abortions on Guam retired in 2018 . Due to restricted options , some mothers decide to carry on with their pregnancies and surrender their babies after giving birth . In 2019 , Ohala Adoptions , a nonprofit agency , was founded to offer another option for expectant mothers who otherwise seek to terminate their pregnancies .
According to Pamela Sablan , nursery supervisor at Guam Memorial Hospital , there were three to four newborn babies that were adopted at the hospital last year . No records from previous year were available . “ There is probably more but it ’ s done outside GMH through Ohala or within the family arrangements ,” she said .
In 2021 , Gov . Lou Leon Guerrero signed into law two adoption bills authored by then-Sen . Mary Torres . Public Law 36-39 streamlines the adoption system and includes adoption agencies in the process . Public Law 36-40 expands the Newborn Infant Safe Haven Act by allowing a mother to relinquish custody of the child to emergency medical service personnel , if she calls 911 and stays with the infant until personnel arrive , instead of having to bring the baby to a safe-haven facility .
The enactment of the bills was preceded by a heated debate in the Guam legislature , where human trafficking
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Where do relinquished babies go ?
concerns were raised . But Torres argued that any adoption agency on Guam would already be mandated to comply with local law and the conditions of the Hague Convention regarding international adoptions .
“ I believe everything seems to be working well , it ’ s just a matter of educating and informing the community about adoption ,” Sablan said .
The adoption process at GMH is facilitated by the nursery , labor and delivery units and the obstetrician working hand in hand with a social worker , Sablan said . There are two ways by which adoption can be facilitated . “ Mom / parents make arrangements with Ohala Adoptions . They are the ones assisting the mom and the adoptive parents , from paperwork to emotional support of both sides ,” Sablan said .
“ If mom already made arrangements on who will adopt her child , like a family member or somebody she chose , we just need to make sure that mom already settled or processed all the legal documents prior to discharging the baby to the adoptive parents . This may take
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
some time and the baby might end up in the hospital longer if mom did not process the papers before she delivers ,” she added .
Some mothers make ad hoc decisions . “ Some moms / parents opted to do the adoption after delivery and the baby is already discharged ,” Sablan said . “ Ultimately , it is the mother ’ s decision if she wants to have her baby get adopted and the hospital honors it . We assist mothers as much as we can , from emotional support to paperwork .”
However , the last-minute surrender of newborns without following the legal process is concerning , according to Lori Boss , founder of Ohala Adoptions . Despite having provided training at the hospital on the legal process of adoption , Boss said Ohala has never been contacted by GMH regarding babies relinquished by parents . “ We never received a phone call from GMH ,” she said .
Based on her own inquiry , Boss said some babies were surrendered with only the nurse or the doctor facilitating the process . “ According to administrators and nurses I talked to there , this is a regular occurrence ,” she said .
Boss said she had learned of one instance in which the baby was turned over by a nurse to a foster family in the hospital ’ s parking lot .
“ We ’ d like to think that everyone who gets the baby is a good person , but that ’ s not always so ,” she said , warning that surrendering babies to unvetted families raises a safety issue .
Ohala maintains pre-approved files of prospective families that have gone through thorough background checks , Boss said . “ When a mom comes to us , we look through all the files . We have portfolios of families that want these babies and have done their work ,” she said . “ We let the moms choose .”
The agency has rejected some families that did not meet the qualifications , she said . “ We , as an agency , have the right to deny them . We don ’ t have to elect them to adopt a child . We have our own social worker who does the background checks .”
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