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housewife in Medan, North Sumatra, claims she was barred from adopting a baby she found drifting in the Deli River because of their religious difference. The baby boy, who was born 12 hours before being set adrift in a plastic bag placed in the river, has been taken away by Medan social affairs agency officers after the housewife, identified only as Desi, had taken care of it at her house for several days.

Desi, 25, a resident of Hamdan in the district of Medan Maimun, said she was sad that she could no longer take care of the baby. Desi said she had intended to adopt the baby, but the Social Affairs Agency had barred her from doing so because of their religious difference.

“It’s not fair. What have I done wrong that I am prohibited from adopting a baby I found drifting in a river?” Desi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The social affairs agency officials entrusted the baby boy to Pringadi Hospital after taking him from the house of Desy’s family on Monday. The baby is being treated for diarrhea.

The discovery of the infant drifting in the river has shocked Medan residents. Although he had experienced a lack of oxygen in the plastic bag, the baby was reportedly in a stable condition when he was found by Desy’s family last Friday.

Desy explained that she had heard the baby crying when she went to the river located behind her house at around 9 p.m. Desi then asked members of her family to help her grab the black plastic bag she spotted on the river.

She had intended to adopt the baby and planned to name him Hidayat Pasiran, but the Medan Social Affairs Agency had foiled her plan.

The head of the agency’s rehabilitation division, Zailun, said on Tuesday that the prohibition was based on Social Affairs Ministry Decree No. 110/2009 on child adoptions. Citing the decree, he said several requirements needed to be met for an adoption to take place. A couple intending to adopt a child should be aged between 30 and 50 years and should have been married for more than five years. The couple also should have had at least one child. And they should have the same faith or religion as the child they wanted to adopt.

Two other regulations contain a similar requirement. Government Regulation (PP) No. 54/2007 on child adoption stipulates that if the origin of a child is unknown, the religion of the child is that of the majority of the people in the area. Law No. 35/2014 on child protection stipulates any adoption must follow regional customs and should not disregard the origin of a child.

Zailun asserted that Desi and her family were not of the same religion as the baby they wanted to adopt. His agency found out about this after authorities identified the parents of the baby.

Arrested by police shortly after the discovery of the baby in the Deli River, a woman believed to be the mother of the baby was taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital to be treated for postpartum hemorrhage. The woman told police she was married and had two children. During her third pregnancy, her husband apparently abandoned the family, forcing her to put her newly born baby onto the river, because she could not take care of another child.

“The baby’s parents are Christians, while Desi and her family are Muslims,” said Zailun.

University of Indonesia (UI) social welfare expert Johanna Debora Imelda said children’s basic right and need to grow up in a family should be prioritized.

“The most crucial [qualifications] for adoptive parents are their competence to nurture a child financially, psychologically and socially.”

In August 2017, the Binjai Social Affairs Agency had turned down a request submitted by a Christian policewoman to adopt a child found in a cardboard box in the Limau Mungkur subdistrict of West Binjai, which is populated mostly by Muslims. (sha)