Babies For Sale
I have been reading about the “baby trade” in the Philippines and it is scary. Babies are bought and sold like stocks on the exchange. It is not a huge surprise but then again, when you start reading how these transactions happen, it is enough to make you sick. It’s a very dark world.
Typically, the babies come from poor single women, usually teenagers or women in their early 20’s. The norm is to agree to sell their baby while still pregnant. And it’s not usually the mother-to-be who is pulling the strings, it’s a ‘baby broker.’ Think about this, there are actually people, who walk around looking for poor pregnant women and offer them money in exchange for their babies. More often than not, the impoverished woman sees no hope in keeping and raising their child only to bring it into an atmosphere of poverty, destitution and hopelessness. So, in exchange for money, out of desperation, she sells her baby.
The Market is Huge!
Here are the players in this transaction:
- Young pregnant woman – poor, hopeless and desperate. Easily found in the squatters’ areas or on the streets of the more urban areas.
- Baby broker – usually more than one, preying on the vulnerable to make money.
- Couple or individual willing to buy a baby – sometimes a sincere couple not having or wanting to spend tens of thousands of dollars to adopt and not wanting to spend 3-4 years in the process. Sometimes, those willing to buy babies are just plain bad people. They will buy low and sell high. Again, to make money. And who knows what happens to the baby after that transaction.
Usually, the baby brokers wait until around the 7th month of pregnancy to arrange the transaction. By this time, they will know if the baby is healthy and normal. If not, they move on to the next young mother-to-be. But if so, the exchange of money begins. And if the baby is mixed, even more money is involved. Filipinos think mixed babies are more beautiful…..for some reason. But while the sale may bring in more money, it makes little difference to the baby broker. In this business, there is a plentiful supply, and a plentiful demand. There’s no shortages on either side of the transaction.
As the mother-to-be nears delivery, the couple or individual paying for the baby will be notified and put on standby. Once the mother delivers and they are discharged from the hospital, a meeting is arranged, sometimes within minutes of being discharged. Final payment is made to the broker, who pays the mother her share and the couple or individual go on their way with the baby. Usually, they head to a government office to officially (and illegally) register the baby. Or they (the bad guys) find a buyer willing to pay more than they did, to make a profit and then go look for their next deal.
What Can Be Done?
It’s pitiful. It happens every single day in the Philippines as well as other third world countries. The DSWD or NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) are not staffed to thoroughly devote teams of people dedicated to this problem. And the police, as I’ve read, will often turn a blind eye to the problem as they know it is rampant. It’s a horrible problem! It’s even happening on Facebook and Instagram!
So, what can be done about this? Not much of anything unless there are excessive amounts of manpower assigned specifically to catch the bad guys and for there to be a complete reformation of the adoption process. Both are huge longshots.
In the meantime, we will keep building orphanages and providing the most loving and godly care we can give to the Philippines most precious and vulnerable population, their orphans.
