Home

Baby

Family

Mums

Forum

Join

Login

2006 News | October News

Product Reviews | Competitions | Baby Gallery | Recipes | Ovulation Calendar | Pregnancy Calendar | Baby Names | A Quick Look | Our Blog | Shopping Mall | Breastfeeding | Voucher Codes | We Like | Baby Blogs | Community | Catalogues | Travel | Dads

Madonna Adoption

The Adoption
Father's Comment
Madonna's Statement
Madonna's Interview with Oprah Winfrey

The media circus surrounding Madonna's planned adoption of a one year-old boy in Malawi has gone onto overdrive now with the news that campaigners there are mounting a legal challenge to the adoption.

A spokesperson for the singer originally told the press that Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie 'have been granted custody of their son David' and that 'final legal arrangements are being made to bring him home to his new family.

However the legal challenge is expected to insist that the singer abides by current adoption laws which could require her to live in Malawi for eighteen months before she can adopt the youngster. It would seem highly unlikely that they would do that.

'Madonna and her legal counsel have been working on her plans to adopt a baby from Malawi for quite some time,' the singer's spokesperson told People magazine today. 'She had hoped to keep this very private and a family matter, but things didn't go that way."

Father Angry at Madonna's Critics

The father of the one-year-old boy Madonna is hoping to adopt has hit back at rights groups who are aiming to challenge the singer's plans in court.
"Where were these people when David was struggling in the orphanage?" Yohane Banda told the AP news agency. "These so-called human rights groups should leave my baby alone."
The boy is now in London with Madonna. He will be monitored by Malawian officials over a period of 18 months before the adoption is approved.

Mr Banda said he was forced to give his baby up to the Home of Hope Orphanage in a Malawian village. His wife died a week after giving birth to David and the couple had two other sons who died in infancy from malaria.

Madonna and her husband have, incidentally, broken no laws as far as the government is concerned. They have followed all the legal steps.

Madonna's Statement

Madonna has defended her intention to adopt a Malawian baby, after the move prompted a row among charity groups. Below is her statement in full.

"My husband and I began the adoption process many months prior to our trip to Malawi. I did not wish to disclose my intentions to the world prior to the adoption happening as this is a private family matter.

After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family. Nevertheless, we have gone about the adoption procedure according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child. Reports to the contrary are totally inaccurate.

The procedure includes an 18-month evaluation period after which time we hope to make this adoption permanent. This was not a decision or commitment that my family or I take lightly. I am overwhelmed and inspired by my trip to Malawi and hope that it helps bring attention to how much more the world needs to do to help the children of Africa.

My heartfelt thanks for all the good wishes I have received and I hope the press will allow my family some room for us to experience the joy we feel to have David home.

Madonna's Interview with Oprah Winfrey

In an extensive, and emotional interview Madonna told Oprah Winfrey that David was 'extremely ill' when she met him. 'He had severe pneumonia, and he could hardly breathe. I was in a state of panic, because I didn't want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him. We got permission to take him to a clinic to have a bronchial dilator put on him. … He had pneumonia and was given an injection of antibiotics. He's still a little bit ill, not completely free of his pneumonia, but he's much better than he was when we found him."

Touching on reports that David's father didn't know that his son was being adopted, Madonna says; 'Here's what I knew. David had been living in this orphanage since he was two weeks old. He had survived malaria and tuberculosis, and no one from his extended family had visited him since the time he arrived. So from my perspective, there was no one looking after David's welfare.'
As for the tabloid claims, she says; 'I sat in that room, I looked into that man's eyes...I believe that the press is manipulating this information out of him. I believe at this point in time, he's been terrorised by the media. They have asked him things, repeatedly, and they have put words in his mouth. They have spun a story that is completely false.'

Madonna also disputes stories that she had in some way bypassed the Malawian adoption process. 'I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa. There are no adoption laws in Malawi. And I was warned by my social worker that because there were no known laws in Malawi, they were more or less going to have to make them up as we went along. And she did say to me, 'Pick Ethiopia. Go to Kenya. Don't go to Malawi because you're just going to get a hard time'.'

On a lighter note, the star says her biological children, Lourdes and Rocco have already taken little David into their hearts. 'They just embraced him, and that's the amazing thing about children. They don't ask questions. They've never once said, 'What is he doing here', or mentioned the difference in his skin color, or questioned his presence in our life. That is an amazing lesson that children do teach us.'

October 2006

Can Calling a Child `Naughty`really be Traumatic?

Can Calling a Child `Naughty`really be Traumatic?

Pneumococcal Jab for Children

Pneumococcal Jab for Children


Tweet		Email this

Follow Us On Twitter

Join Us On facebook

Personalise your iPod, Laptop or iPad

Latest Articles

Win A Swing Tray Booster Seat From The First Years

Win A Swing Tray Booster Seat From The First Years

TheBabyWebsite & The First Years have teamed up to offer 5 Fab Swing Tray Booster Seats prizes in a new competition.

The Ford Kuga

To continue on my voyage of discovery through Ford’s newest range I was to spend some time with the latest Kuga Titanium in its 2.0-litre diesel guise.

Win A Liberty Born Blanket in Pink or Blue

TheBabyWebsite and Scarlet & Argent have two of these beautiful and luxurious baby blankets up for grabs.

Canvas Holidays 2012

Canvas Holidays 2012

Why not shatter all those negative memories of camping and look at Canvas Holidays 2012

Win A PurFlo Shleepy Comforter and Purflo SleepSac

Win A PurFlo Shleepy Comforter and Purflo SleepSac

TheBabyWebsite and PurFlo are giving you the chance to win one of four of these great PurFlo sleep sets.

Win A Brilliant EcoEgg

Win A Brilliant EcoEgg

TheBabyWebsite & Ecoegg have teamed up to offer you the chance to Win 1 of 8 Ecoeggs

Win A tommee tippee® Mum & Baby Set Worth Over £300 and Baby Show Tickets

Win A tommee tippee® Mum & Baby Set Worth Over £300 and Baby Show Tickets

TheBabyWebsite and tommee tippee® have teamed up to offer 2 of you the chance to win an amazing new mum and baby package and tickets to The Baby Show.

Family Finance Guide

Latest Forum Discussions

Squashed by a saterlite

Indian Summer!!!

Hydrogen Car filling station

As recommended on the Good Web Guide

Follow TheBabyWebsite on Twitter

Join Us On facebook

RSS Feed Available Here

Listen to Radio Online

Ikona
Nochex Merchant Account | SEO Services by EBriks.com
Baby Names | Pregnancy Symptoms | Pregnancy Calendar

Copyright © thebabywebsite.com ltd 2006-2012