I Was Forced to Give Up My Child: A Citizen's Story

Yesterday, the Investigative Committee of Armenia reported that the director of the "Republican Institute of Reproductive Health, Perinatology, Obstetrics, and Gynecology" Razmik Abrahamyan, deputy director Arshak Jerjeryan, and the director of the "Yerevan Children's Home" Liana Karapetyan were arrested on suspicion of illegally separating a child from its parents.

Hraparak.am received a call from a woman asking whether the same thing could have happened to her and whether her child was alive and healthy. Marine Grigoryan's story was both touching and tragic. She recounted that on July 10, 2011, during her seventh month of pregnancy, her health deteriorated sharply, and she was transferred to Hospital No. 1 for an emergency operation. Her son, Grigor, was born via cesarean section.

"Due to insufficient technical resources at Hospital No. 1, the baby was transferred to the Republican Hospital. There, they informed me that the child was not doing well and was being kept in an aquarium. He was born very small, weighing only 1,300 grams. After I was discharged from the hospital, my parents and husband went to check on him, but the hospital staff always insisted that the child was not growing properly, he was small and weak. A month later, when I visited the child, he was moving normally, opening and closing his eyes like other children, and was eating well. We were bringing food and clothes for him.

Later, various tests were conducted, and they told us that the child was not growing well, had brain issues, and could not be discharged from the hospital. We said to keep him there as long as needed, offering to pay whatever was necessary, but they said there was no need to pay; they insisted we had to give up our child, claiming that the child would have severe issues later in life and would always remain like a plant. I was in a very bad psychological state; even my mother-in-law was quite strict, saying she did not want a sick grandchild, which led to a terrible conclusion about our lives. I signed the papers to give up my child about three months after birth."

Marine Grigoryan shared with the media that afterward, her husband’s family blamed her, saying they did not want a wife capable of giving birth to a sick child, which ultimately led to their separation: "After that event, our family fell apart—nobody wanted a daughter-in-law who could have a sick child. Following this, the child was placed in an orphanage based on our application. After separating from my husband in 2013, I contacted the orphanage. Of course, the case had been archived, and we were informed that a couple from abroad had adopted the child. I asked why they adopted him when he was sick. The hospital even said he might live for just a few months or years. I wondered how it was possible that if I couldn’t care for him, an overseas couple could. They told us the child was very sick, but the foreign couple was wealthy and could provide everything he needed, including surgery.

In the hospital, they had told me that my child had brain issues, but at the orphanage, they claimed he had some kind of foot problems. Yet I never noticed any issues with his feet. I had carried my pregnancy for seven months, regularly attending consultations without ever being told my child had any issues, and I believe my medical records should be preserved at the clinic near "Petak."

In her conversation with the media, Marine Grigoryan stated that she does not blame anyone for what happened; she only requests to verify whether her child indeed had health problems: "I simply ask you to find out if it’s possible my child was healthy and might still be alive. I asked the orphanage about the adoptive parents and where they were from, but they said they could not provide such information. I am now married and have a daughter whom I conceived with great difficulty through artificial insemination. My child was a boy named Grigor, born on July 10, 2011, Grigor Sahakyan, with blonde hair and blue eyes."