Adoptees demand apology from Danish state over adoption scandal involving India

This week, reports have emerged regarding several new adoption cases from India, revealing that biological parents were misled about their children, who were adopted to Denmark in the 1970s and 1980s. This is highlighted in a new season of the documentary series “The Great Adoption Theft.”

The expanding scandal is impacting David Kildendal Nielsen, one of the adoptees who came to Denmark from India against his biological parents’ wishes. He expressed that many adoptees he has spoken to are fed up with the situation. “Ultimately, it is the Danish state that oversaw the area and approved our adoptions under Danish law. The state cannot evade this responsibility, and I hope they will offer an official apology to us adoptees,” he stated.

Many adoptees are demanding a formal apology. In an interview, Minister of Social Affairs Sophie Hæstorp Andersen was asked if the Danish state plans to apologize. She acknowledged the anger and frustration caused by the realization that many biological parents were unaware of their children’s adoption.

The Minister noted that all parties in Parliament agreed last year on the need for an impartial and thorough investigation into the decisions surrounding many of these adoptions, expanding the inquiry to all countries involved. She emphasized the importance of uncovering the historical context of international adoptions and providing adoptees with clarity about their own stories.

Despite the calls for a formal apology, the Minister reiterated her commitment to facilitating access to personal adoption records and conducting an extensive investigation into historical adoption processes, refusing to confirm an official apology from the state.

The opposition has criticized the government, demanding a comprehensive examination of all international adoptions to determine the state’s responsibility. An investigation, primarily focused on the ten largest donor countries from which Denmark adopted children, has been funded but deemed insufficient by the opposition, who insist that the state’s role must be investigated more deeply.