Chile creates DNA bank for Pinochet-era adoptions probe

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Chile creates DNA bank for Pinochet-era adoptions probe
AFP
July 2, 2014, 1:32 am

Santiago (AFP) - Chilean authorities have created a bank of DNA data to help investigate suspected illegal adoptions under the regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet, in power 1973 to 1990.

The database run by the government forensic medical service aims to create an independent register of genetic information for future analysis and comparisons as a court investigates "a suspected network of irregular adoptions of minors from hospitals in the 1970s and 1980s," a statement said.

Chilean courts are probing more than a dozen cases of suspected illegal adoptions of newborns declared stillborn but in reality given to new families, according to the online newspaper Ciper.

At the heart of scheme was Chilean priest Gerardo Joannon, suspended when the scandal broke. The 77-year-old priest was the "link" between parents of pregnant teen girls and the doctors who declared the babies dead so they could be adopted without the knowledge of their parents, the news site said.



Read more: https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/24364078/

[Louisiana1976]

1. A good idea. There were similar adoptions in Argentina during the Dirty War.

The movie "The Official Story" was made about one of them.