A Bulgarian woman has been handed a ten-month suspended prison sentence for attempting to sell her child to a married couple in Ghent.
The woman, who has eight other children back in Bulgaria, arrived in Belgium when she was six months pregnant in June 2020 after being put in contact with the couple through a mutual acquaintance. She later told the court that, by selling the baby, she hoped she could offer it a "better future".
The couple, who are Turkish nationals but have lived in Belgium for many years, had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child for many years.
No precise financial arrangements between the couple and the woman were ever made. However, the parties had verbally agreed that the couple would cover all of the woman's medical fees.
The court later heard that the woman was able to extort €5,000 from the couple for medical expenses that were never paid.
"The court mainly wants to send a social signal with the ruling," the judge's verdict read. "Not only to the Bulgarian woman, but also to anyone who would like to earn money from the birth of a child by trading it for profit."
'They especially love the child'
The court also heard that, prior to the attempted purchase of the baby, the man attempted to convince his wife of the false claim that the Bulgarian woman was in fact his mistress.
The specific reasons for the husband's actions remain unclear. VRT reports that that he was attempting to persuade his wife to accept the child as a member of their family. On the other hand, Het Nieuwsblad claims that the husband was under the mistaken impression that he could only adopt the child if he was its biological father.
The couple were ultimately acquitted of any wrongdoing. "They especially love the child, so their actions were not driven by the will to purchase it as a commodity and keep it with them," the judge said.
Related News
- One in a million: Identical triplets born in Flemish hospital
- Parents of 40 unborn babies told wrong sex due to technical error
In yet another remarkable twist, the court ruled that the baby can continue to live with the couple until formal adoption proceedings are concluded. The judge justified the decision by highlighting the importance of the child "being brought up in a loving family."
By contrast, the conditions of the woman's eight other children in Bulgaria are "appalling", according to Het Nieuwsblad. Local child protection services have also reportedly been called to the woman's place of residence on several occasions.
