Julie Hårdnes Adelørn seeks answers about her adoption from India to Denmark after documentary triggers renewed interest

Julie Hårdnes Adelørn, adopted from India to Denmark in 1988, faces a frustrating lack of information regarding her origins. The adoption papers she received contain minimal details, primarily the name of the Indian orphanage and an approximate birth date, interpreted by her as a guess. With most fields empty, she had reconciled herself to the notion that little else could be found about her adoption—until early this year, when she watched a documentary titled “The Great Adoption Theft.”

This documentary unveiled stories of Indian mothers who had been tricked into giving up their children for adoption, prompting Adelørn to question her own circumstances. Since then, interest among adopted individuals seeking clarity about their own adoptions has surged, especially after a former employee of the Adoption Agency revealed lapses in several cases. Following the documentary’s release, hundreds sought access to their adoption files at the sole agency, DIA (Danish International Adoption).

Adelørn applied for insight into her records in January, but after ten months, she has yet to receive any information, as DIA faced operational shutdowns. She expressed her feelings of betrayal and helplessness, noting that she has long felt disconnected from her pre-adoption life, as if she only began to exist during her flight to Denmark.

Amid the ongoing frustrations, she has contracted a private organization to assist in locating her biological family in India, independently bearing the financial and emotional burden. As a mother herself, Adelørn feels a profound need to uncover her past, underscoring the distress of potentially having been taken from her birth family. The adoption agency’s closure has transitioned responsibilities to the authorities, which now prioritize providing access to the files, though the timeline remains unclear.