(CNN)New Zealand’s government watchdog will investigate the practice of authorities seizing newborn babies from their mothers — including some when they are still in hospital.
Taking infants into state care — known as “uplifting” — has been making headlines in the country since last week when an investigation by local media outlet Newsroom showed authorities attempting to take a seven-day-old baby from its 19-year-old mother — who was of Maori heritage — while she was still in the maternity ward in Hawke’s Bay Hospital, on New Zealand’s east coast.
On Wednesday, New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier announced a wide-ranging, independent investigation into the Ministry for Children’s uplifting process, making it the third inquiry to be announced since the story hit headlines.
