News That Matters Support us. Attempts to regulate the Marshallese adoption market do little to address the desperation that helps drive it. Sea level rise is eating away at the relatively small stretches of solid ground the Marshallese people call home. When Bautista was six months pregnant, she says she and her sister bumped into adoption lawyer Gordon Benjamin outside of a store near their house. Benjamin, she said, asked the two young women if they knew anyone who was pregnant and might want to give up their babies.
Bautista went looking for him the next day: putting her baby up for adoption in exchange for starting a new life in the U. It is illegal in the Marshall Islands to solicit birth mothers for adoption. But Benjamin remembers the encounter with Bautista much differently.
He said he had heard about her pregnancy through the grapevine. When he ran into her that day, he said, he urged her to go through the official government process. Many players involved in the illicit adoption market argue that they are helping women seize a better opportunity for not just themselves, but their entire family. No shoes. So Aine says he tells the women to move to the states to get a better life. Loreta Bautista moved to Arkansas a little more than a year after giving birth to a daughter in Hawaii.
Her sister got a job in Hilo, saved up money for a ticket, and joined her in Arkansas a few months later. Soon after, Antonia Bautista proudly shared a photo on Facebook of a new badge identifying her as a worker at a Tyson Foods processing plant. Tears come down from our eyes when we get these kind of reports. You're officially signed up for our daily newsletter, the Morning Beat.
A confirmation email will arrive shortly. In the meantime, we have other newsletters that you might enjoy. Check the boxes for emails you'd like to receive. Inbox overcrowded? Don't worry, you can unsubscribe or update your preferences at any time. Support Us. Civil Beat is a nonprofit, reader-supported newsroom based in Hawaii. Make a Donation Close. Make a Donation. Legislature Special Projects. Sign Up. Reading time: 4 minutes. Share Article. Share Story. We'll send you a confirmation e-mail shortly.
