Guatemala probe spurs N. Texas adoption fears

Jacki is among 2,000 other American mothers-to-be who feel helpless as the political dilemma leaves them in limbo.

Sienna's crib waits for her, but Jacki and her husband, who also have a two-year-old daughter named Isabella, said they fear the child may never get to use it.

"We've held her," Jacki said. "We've bonded with her. She is our daughter."

Jacki and her husband said they began the adoption of Sienna last year. But in early April, they were told Guatemala put a stop to children leaving the country for adoptions as they reexamine each file for fraud. They are specifically seeking cases in which mothers may have given up their babies due to pressure.

As the probe ensues, Sienna remains in an orphanage.

"The reason that we adopted is that we went through a couple of miscarriages that were late term," Jacki said. "So, we lost babies at like 20 and 30 weeks and to lose her will feel worse."

Marshall Williams oversees international adoptions at the Gladney Center in Fort Worth. He said the center's nearly two dozen families who went through adoption there are safe.

"I would certainly hope that no later than the end of this year all of those children would be home," Williams said.

But adoptive parents have expressed concerns, worrying about hostile questioning of the birth mothers by the government.

With less than ten percent of files reviewed, the Guatemala government has already thrown out 15 adoptions. As the review process continues, Jacki said she worries Sienna's adoption may be next.

"What if she doesn't come home," she said. "However small that possibility is, it's still out there."

Sienna turns one this June. Right now, she continues to share a room with nearly 20 other babies.

E-mail chawes@wfaa.com