Cape Town - The Women’s Legal Centre Trust has headed to court to defend the rights of two mothers from ‘unlawful interference’ by the Department of Social Development, after the women were allegedly being persuaded to keep their biological children whom they gave up for adoption.
According to the Trust, both minor children have been in the uninterrupted care of their prospective adoptive parents for more than three years, and “have been thriving”.
In both cases, the Children’s Court found the adoptions to be in the childrens’ best interests.
However, the Trust on Wednesday argued in virtual hearing the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg that the provincial department has continued to undermine the womens’ rights.
They were 23 and 27 years old respectively, and both full-time students at the time of exercising their rights.
The Trust argues: “The department’s actions appear to be based on a purported attempt to keep the children with their biological families. The children do not know their biological families. They have spent over three years in the care of their prospective adoptive parents, with the adoptions having not yet been finalised due to the obstructive conduct of the department.
“The social workers employed by the department have never met the minor children. They have focused their efforts in attempting to persuade the biological families to adopt them, despite the requirements for adoption by the prospective adoptive parents having already been met. They have harassed (the biological mothers). They have kept the minor children in legal limbo. They have made spurious allegations of impropriety and misconduct against the adoption social worker who assisted (the biological mothers) in their decisions, all in an attempt to scupper the finalisation of the adoptions,” the Trust argued.
In their heads of argument, the Trust said that both mothers had been harassed by the department, which included the privacy violation of one by disclosing the birth of and the intended adoption to her family, while the other woman (already a mother to a daughter and fearing eviction by her family with a new baby) had to get an interdict against the department who had threatened to reveal the same information to her family.
The children’s lives now hang in the balance pending the finalisation of their adoption applications.
“The department’s conduct has grossly undermined the best interests of (the children). First, by delaying their adoption for over three years and causing (the one’s) placement in a place of safety immediately after his birth.”
Through the court high court application, the mothers have sought to vindicate their own rights and give effect to their decisions to place their biological children in the care of loving families who are able to support them.
The Trust’s application is for an order that thigh court declare the department’s conduct unconstitutional and in breach of the mothers rights to dignity, privacy and bodily and psychological integrity, as well as the minor children’s rights to have their best interests held paramount.
The matter continues virtually.
Cape Times