Friend,
Medical experts agree: Children thrive when they are cared for by their families and immersed in their culture, heritage, and community. Absent these supports, children can be at risk of long-term psychological harms that have lifelong detrimental consequences.
And that’s only one of the reasons why we’ve been advocating to reunite Baby Doe with her rightful family members.
Over two years ago, this Afghan child was taken from her family by a U.S. Marine who was deployed to Afghanistan at the time of a raid that killed Baby Doe’s parents and siblings. After learning about Baby Doe, the Marine decided to pursue a formal adoption of her in the U.S. without her Afghan family’s knowledge or consent.
Although a judge vacated the adoption order in March and confirmed that the Afghan relatives who were raising her before she was taken are her “de facto” parents, Baby Doe has yet to be returned to her rightful family. The Marine appealed the order vacating the adoption, and the case was argued before the Virginia Court of Appeals two weeks ago. The Young Center, in partnership with the National Center for Youth Law, filed an amicus—or “friend of the court”—brief in the case setting forth why reunification with her Afghan family is in Baby Doe’s best interests.
Baby Doe’s case is one of many examples of the deep-rooted legacy of government actors removing children of color from their families, both within the U.S. and abroad. This Giving Tuesday, your donation will support our efforts to challenge this historical trend and to reunite children with their families and their loved ones.
