10 Heartbreaking Adoption Stories

Lori and Craig Gertz longed for a larger family when they brought baby Ellie into their Long Grove, Ill., home. After seven miscarriages, they decided to adopt and were chosen to take guardianship of a little girl. However, as she grew, Ellie’s mood swings and unpredictable behavior made life at home scary for the family. Lori was pushed down a flight of stairs while eight months pregnant with daughter Talia, whom Ellie would later physically attack.

After several hospitalizations and many doctors, she was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). When Ellie told staff at her school that she was being abused at home, the Gertzes decided to give Ellie up. “I’m still grieving,” Lori told The Chicago Tribune.

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The “Baby Veronica” case has gone all the way to the Supreme Court, tragically moving a child between two separate sets of parents. The story is complex: Now-4-year-old Veronica’s birth mother put her up for adoption in Oklahoma while the birth father, Dusten Brown, was serving in Iraq. Initially in the dark about the adoption, Brown tried to get his daughter back by invoking the Indian Child Welfare Act, which seeks to keep Native American children in Native American families (Brown is of Cherokee descent).

Until she was 2 years old, Veronica lived with her adoptive family, the Copobiancos, but was legally uprooted by a South Carolina court ruling in favor of the birth father. She went to live with him until June of this year, before the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the decision. After many legal battles, Brown handed Veronica over to her adoptive parents on Sept. 23. But the Copobiancos are seeking $500k from Brown in legal fees.

Reuters journalist Megan Twohey spent months looking into a secret chat room where parents swap their adopted children with other families’ adopted kids. Together Reuters and NBC News investigated this “rehoming” network, which facilitated child swaps that didn’t exactly fit their family units. And since no money is exchanged, it isn’t considered trafficking. After the Reuters investigation, the online bulletin board, Adopting-from-Disruption, was then shut down by Yahoo, where it was based, along with five other groups.

MORE: The 4-1-1 on Adoption

After discovering her pregnancy and then watching her relationship fall apart, University of Iowa photojournalism student Callie Mitchell, 25, began chronicling her journey toward adoption for The Daily Iowan. She struggled, going back and forth with her decision, but eventually chose Kristen and Brian Doud to take care of her son Leo.

During the process, Mitchell and the adoptive parents became close. “Never ever, ever be ashamed to give your baby up for adoption,” she said, according to Today. “Yes, you are giving up a baby. But it’s such a selfless thing. Seeing [the Douds] with Leo is amazing.”

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About 1,500 families were in the process of adopting a child from Russia when the country's President Vladimir Putin signed a document into law last December banning U.S. adoptions out of the country. Heartbreak followed, as those families thought of having to start the process over again—or worse, having to give up a child they had already met. "I promised this baby I was going to be his mommy," Kim Summers told Reuters.

Photo via CBSNews.com

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One brave mother shared her adoption story in an essay on Yahoo! Shine. After finding out that conceiving would be incredibly difficult, Nicky and her husband were selected to adopt 4-month-old Isaiah, and were told he was a low-risk baby whom they wanted to place in a loving home right away. Nicky “fell in love with him right away,” and had Isaiah home for two weeks before they got a visit from the social worker, telling them an out-of-state relative had come calling to claim Isaiah.

Although he continued to stay with Nicky and her husband until arrangements could be made for the baby’s biological aunt to take him, she knew her time with the little boy was limited. “It has been rough loving and caring for him every day just knowing that heartbreak is around the corner,” Nicky wrote.

Law & Order: SVU actress Mariska Hargitay embarked on an adoption journey with husband Peter Hermann, something she told Good Housekeeping was “not for the faint of heart.” The couple has successfully adopted a son and a daughter, but reaching a family of four did not come without its setbacks. After being chosen as parents and taking one little girl home for two days, the birth mother had a change of heart. "It was nothing short of devastating," Hargitay said. "But … it was probably the greatest, happiest ending. I mean, it was so painful for us, but it was deeply joyful and deeply right for her."

Jared and Kristi Frei legally adopted their daughter Leah through a Utah agency in 2010. However, Leah’s biological father soon came forward to claim her after he found out his ex wife had given the baby up for adoption without his consent while he was stationed at a military base in South Carolina, away from their Texas hometown, according to the Standard-Examiner. The judge in the case said the Freis should have given up the baby when the father originally stepped up, and scolded them for not doing so. He ordered Leah—whom biological father Terry Achane has named Teleah—to the custody of Achane in January 2013. While the Freis are appealing the ruling, the 2-year-old’s future hangs in the balance.

Photo via Bossip

One “overjoyed” couple from western Sweden was the first set of parents their baby boy met after the birth mother refused to hold him and the biological father was out of the picture. They took him home for eight months while continuing to finalize the adoption. However, the birth mother changed her mind before the adoption was finalized, and the couple was forced to give their son back to the biological mom. In addition, they were also ordered to help transition the baby into the care of her new mother before giving her up.

"It feels like we're being mocked. We're supposed to help her bond with our beloved child, who they now want to take from us," the adoptive mother said, according The Local. The unnamed couple is seeking a change in adoption laws after their heart-wrenching journey, hoping the government will take a stronger look into what’s in the best interest of the child before ordering a change of custody back to a birth mother.

When they wanted to expand their brood as pregnancy had been a challenge, “Phillip” and “Sara” (names have been changed) were glad to welcome four siblings into their already large family of five children. After meeting them through a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services flier, they felt an instant bond. The kids—ages 6, 5, 4 and 3—moved into their home two weeks later, and were described as healthy and happy, according to WFAA 8.

The parents, however, sensed something was amiss when the oldest children began acting out, having their biological children do things like hide under blankets and keep secrets. When they finally got ahold of their psychological evaluations, the papers revealed past sexual abuse. Phillip and Sara were forced by Arizona caseworkers to give the four prospective adoptees back, or else have their biological children taken from them because of having an "unsafe environment," according to the site.

Photo via WFAA.com