ATR EXPOSE: Baby Up for Adoption on Craigslist
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Anonymous L.A.-area listing offers child for adoption
Just a day after Craigslist reached a compact with 40 state attorneys general to crack down on the use of its whitespace for the solicitation of prostitution, Auction Talk Radio has discovered a seemingly more heinous practice advertised on the site: anonymous baby adoptions.
While trolling the Los Angeles-area Craigslist, we came across a posted ad that appeared to be seeking childcare for an infant in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. Yet when the ad was opened, we were met with this terse sentence:
"I have a baby boy for adoption e-mail me if you want him."
We were stunned by the ad and called the Glendale Police Dept., which informed us that the practice of giving away children online was permissible by law. Though it was late, we then called the 24-hour telephone number to the Los Angeles County Dept. of Family Services, a representative of which told us that the agency would only investigate if they had an address. The LADFS spokeperson also confessed to being unsure if the act of giving away an infant was illegal.
Being concerned and curious, we searched the web for other instances of infants being given away via online classified. We found several recent instances involving Craigslist, including one reported by Keith Morrelli from Tampa Bay Online back in August. In this case, a woman who complained to the Florida Dept. of Children & Families was told that "a parent has the right to give their child to anyone they want."
Though we remain big fans of Craigslist, we have to ask if the redoubtable Bay Area company ought to have policies prohibiting what amounts to the anonymous trafficing of human lives on its space. Laudable as is yesterday's agreement to help states crack down on the solicitation of illicit sex, such behavior is, presumably, between consenting adults. Not so when infants are being bartered or given away. Notwithstanding the black-letter statutes (it appears not to be illegal, after all) such practice falls well outside the kinds of moral corporate stewardship we have come to expect from Craig Newmark, Jim Buckmaster & Co.
If events of the past week have reminded ATR of anything, it is that we are all citizens and our participation in our communitiues can have a powerful ameleorative impact on what ails us. It is with this in mind, and with a caring eye on the innocent, that we present this to you for your consideration.
Just a day after Craigslist reached a compact with 40 state attorneys general to crack down on the use of its whitespace for the solicitation of prostitution, Auction Talk Radio has discovered a seemingly more heinous practice advertised on the site: anonymous baby adoptions.
While trolling the Los Angeles-area Craigslist, we came across a posted ad that appeared to be seeking childcare for an infant in the L.A. suburb of Glendale. Yet when the ad was opened, we were met with this terse sentence:
"I have a baby boy for adoption e-mail me if you want him."
We were stunned by the ad and called the Glendale Police Dept., which informed us that the practice of giving away children online was permissible by law. Though it was late, we then called the 24-hour telephone number to the Los Angeles County Dept. of Family Services, a representative of which told us that the agency would only investigate if they had an address. The LADFS spokeperson also confessed to being unsure if the act of giving away an infant was illegal.
Being concerned and curious, we searched the web for other instances of infants being given away via online classified. We found several recent instances involving Craigslist, including one reported by Keith Morrelli from Tampa Bay Online back in August. In this case, a woman who complained to the Florida Dept. of Children & Families was told that "a parent has the right to give their child to anyone they want."
Though we remain big fans of Craigslist, we have to ask if the redoubtable Bay Area company ought to have policies prohibiting what amounts to the anonymous trafficing of human lives on its space. Laudable as is yesterday's agreement to help states crack down on the solicitation of illicit sex, such behavior is, presumably, between consenting adults. Not so when infants are being bartered or given away. Notwithstanding the black-letter statutes (it appears not to be illegal, after all) such practice falls well outside the kinds of moral corporate stewardship we have come to expect from Craig Newmark, Jim Buckmaster & Co.
If events of the past week have reminded ATR of anything, it is that we are all citizens and our participation in our communitiues can have a powerful ameleorative impact on what ails us. It is with this in mind, and with a caring eye on the innocent, that we present this to you for your consideration.
posted by Chris and Frank at 10:32 PM
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