Baby theft accusations will be investigated

UKRAINE must investigate the disappearance of at least four newborn babies from a hospital in the east of the country amid "shameful" evidence of baby trafficking, a Council of Europe envoy said yesterday. Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, of the Council's Parliamentary Assembly, said: "Before I was not sure these babies disappeared. Now I am." Her four-day investigative mission to the ex-Soviet republic was prompted by reports that babies had disappeared from hospital No 6 in the city of Kharkiv. According to the reports, the babies were stolen to be sold for adoption or to be harvested for organs. The parents were told they were dead, and their requests to see the bodies were denied. Activists say the number of newborns who disappeared from the city between 2001 and 2003 could be in the hundreds, and there are fears the problem extends beyond Kharkiv. Ukrainians are often targeted by human traffickers because of their poverty and the country's location at the crossroads of Europe. However, the victims are more typically young women who work in the sex industry. Ms Vermot-Mangold said she had personally received information about four cases, but feared the numbers could grow. She added that the Council of Europe would insist all cases were thoroughly investigated, and would monitor progress. The Prosecutor General's Office confirmed its investigation into the cases remains open, and Ms Vermot-Mangold said prosecutors had promised her that "every single case would be re-examined". Tetyana Zakharova, an activist who has tried to bring the cases to justice for three years, said: "I am delighted." The hospital's director, Larisa Nazarenko, said the babies died of complications and their bodies were buried according to Ukrainian law, which doesn't require that the parents be given access. Many Ukrainian officials have supported the hospital, saying bureaucratic problems and lack of communication were to blame for starting the rumours.

...giving birth in EE countries is still a very primitive process. Conditions in maternity hospitals can be appalling... Women are usually isolated from husbands and families...until molther and child are discharged. Family has no knowledge what happens while the mother is in the hospital...and the mother herself has no say regarding her course of treatment and care in the hospital. :eek: Birthing is not the family affair it is in the United States. Infant trafficking...baby stealing...telling mothers their infant is dead....has been reported many, many times throughout the years by reputable Russian newspapers....in chilling details!!! Patients in EE hospitals have little or no rights....not only is there baby-selling....but the market is expanding to organ harvesting....In Poland for example...their were several schemes in progress where a deadly dose of medication was given to a person aboard an ambulance with intentions of organ harvesting. This particular ring was cracked...arrests made, but, basically hands were just slapped. One can bet another ring will set up business somewhere else...in a flash!!! ...though MD's are "under-paid" as opposed to let's say coal miners....doctors have an extraodrinary amount of powerful leverage and reverance in society.... At this point many EE countries are experiencing a tremendous "decline" in births....(according to stats...depends who writes them and for what reason)...death is now winning the race over life. This will have significant and tragic consequences in the future.

...I apologize- for some reason my post has been dissected into 2 parts..... :confused: ....it is easy to miss reading the second part...as it appears quite a distance from the 1st portion of my messg...(just a reminder).... Please....refer to my messg immediately above this one.