Even if Haseena had been bought, there is no evidence that Van Epps knew this.
Indian law requires that before a child can be adopted by foreigners he or she must first be offered to an Indian couple; then to an Indian couple living abroad; then to a couple with one Indian spouse.
On March 23, 2001, the Central Adoption Resource Agency, the federal body in India that regulates adoptions, said the government had "no objection to the placement" of Haseena with foreigners, after another agency had said it could find no Indian parents because the girl had mildly deformed feet.
But a month later, before Van Epps and Clements could petition the family court for approval, the police in Andhra Pradesh uncovered a baby-selling ring. Baby girls were being bought from poor families and brought to orphanages, which in turn made them available to foreign applicants, who pay more for a child than do Indians seeking to adopt.
After the scandal, two orphanages in Andhra Pradesh were closed. A few months later, charges were filed against St. Theresa's Tender Loving Care Home, the orphanage where Haseena was. It was charged with "procuring children since 1996 for the purpose of giving the majority of the children in intercountry adoption for huge monetary considerations."
The case is pending, and the orphanage remains open, though its license has not been renewed.
Sister Teresa Marie, the 69-year old nun who runs the orphanage, denied that it had ever engaged in baby-trafficking. She said the charges were politically motivated.
Ramaswamy and her colleagues have mounted an effort to find Indian parents for these and other baby girls in the process of being adopted by Americans and Europeans.
One Indian couple, B. Venkata Subrahmanyam, a businessman, and his wife, have come forward for Haseena. About two weeks ago, the state agency for Women Development and Child Welfare wrote to the court that Subrahmanyam's desire to adopt Haseena "does not come out of love and affection for the child." Its director added that there was "strong reason to believe" that Subrahmanyam was acting "on account of certain external pressures," a clear reference to foreign adoption opponents.
Subrahmanyam dismissed that notion as "absolutely rubbish." In a telephone interview, he said it was the welfare agency that had acted under external pressure -- from the US government.
On May 28, the state removed Haseena from the Tender Loving Care Home and placed her in the state-run Sishu Vihar orphanage here. The head of that orphanage declined requests to be interviewed.
Since June 7, the state authorities have not allowed Van Epps to see Haseena. But every afternoon, she shows up at the orphanage, hoping she will be granted permission.
On a recent day, sitting outside in a car, she looked dejected, holding a photo album with pictures of the little girl. "When I open it now," she said, "I just cry."
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