Two babies, six possible parents and an internet broker are the main characters in a real-life story that is played out across three states, two continents and the world wide web. The controversy first surfaced in mid-January 2001 when a British couple, Alan and Judith Kilshaw, told The Sun that they paid about $12,000 to adopt twin daughters over the Internet. It later emerged that a couple in California, Richard and Vickie Allen, had previously paid $6,000 to adopt the girls from the same internet broker, and had cared for the twins for two months before the birth mother took them away to resell to the Kilshaws.
The battle for custody began on The Oprah Show when the Allens served a writ on the Kilshaws, claiming the babies had been kidnapped. (1) The plot thickened as the Kilshaws, the Allens, the birth mother, Tranda Wecker, and the birth father, Aaron Wecker, all fought for custody of the two girls. The Allens eventually dropped the case after Richard Allen was charged with molesting two young babysitters.
In
March 2001 the Kilshaws’ adoption was ruled invalid by a judge from Arkansas,
the state in which the babies were adopted by the British couple.
The judge recommended that the British High Court of Justice return
the twins to Missouri, where they were born. (2) The British court agreed
with this ruling and on April 9, 2001, ordered that the babies be returned
to the United States.
The babies were put in foster care in the United States, while the battle for their custody continued. On Jan. 22, 2001 the British government warned UK-based Internet service providers not to carry material that breaks adoption laws, and it tightened adoption laws in general as a result of this situation.
NOTES:
(1) Gray, Chris, “Internet twins taken Into U.S. foster care,” The Independent (London), 20 April 2001, Pg. 11 Available [Online]: Lexis-Nexis [Accessed: 3 February 2002]
(2)
Millward, David & Broughton, Philip D., “British judge orders twin
girls back to U.S.,” Daily Telegraph,
10 April 2001, Pg. 5 Available [Online]: Lexis-Nexis [Accessed: 3 February
2002]
WEBSITES:
Title: The Internet Twins: Timeline
Web Address: http://www.guardian.co.uk/twins/story/0,7369,470939,00.html
Brief Description: This is a timeline of all the important events between Jan. 16 and Apr. 9, 2001 in the controversy surrounding the adoption and custody of the twin girls. It focuses a lot on the British side of the story.
Source: Guardian Unlimited
Title: Arkansas judge voids 'Internet twins' adoption
Web Address: http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/03/06/life.adoption.02/
Brief Description: This site contains a news article written after the judge in Arkansas declared the
British couple’s adoption of the twins to be invalid. It also has links to other articles on the case.
Source: CNN
Title: Outcry Over Internet Baby Sales
Web Address: http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/6881.html
Brief Description: News article written about the controversy surrounding Internet adoptions that arose because of the case of the twin girls.
Source: News Factor Network
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