Mercy James is the adopted daughter of the mega singing and acting star Madonna. Her adoptive mother made the news when she started the controversial adoption process to gain legal rights over the cut 11 year old girl from Malawi. Mercy has made the move from her native country to a completely different lifestyle, as the daughter of a famous American celebrity. Here are five things that you probably didn’t know about Mercy.
1. Her biological family wants her back
In recent news releases, we discover that Mercy’s biological family did not realize that they would be forever separated from her when they agreed to the adoption that took place in 2009. Mercy’s family disclosed that they believe they were hoodwinked into agreeing upon the terms of the adoption and the father is formally requesting to have his daughter back.
2. She will soon be involved in a legal custody case
The 11 year old girl who has been the adopted daughter of Madonna since 2009, will soon become the focal point of a legal custody battle. Her family believes that they have sufficient grounds to pursue their case in an attempt to win back custody of the child in Malawi. They are gathering character witnesses, including the best friend of Mercy’s mother, who is sharing her support for the return of Mercy to her natural family. There is trouble brewing and it’s looking as though Madonna is going to have to lawyer up and head back into court.
3. Madonna is the only mother that Mercy has
Just eight days after Mercy was born, her natural mother passed away. This left her father alone as a single parent. At the time that Madonna took an interest in Mercy as a new addition to her family, the father was in a very difficult situation. It seemed at the time, that allowing her to go with Madonna would be the best solution to the economic hardships that the family was experiencing. Mercy never had the opportunity to know her birth mother, and Madonna has filled that role for the majority of her young life.
4. Her adoption was controversial
The laws in Malawi are different than those of the United States. To begin with, it is not legal to adopt a child from the country of Malawi unless you have lived there for a minimum of eighteen months. The high court of the land considered the special circumstances and agreed to waive the requirement. Madonna has ensured that Mercy makes annual trips back to the county of Malawi to visit her family there.
5. Mercy’s future is not yet certain
Mercy is just beginning to finding out about the circumstances of her adoption. She knows that Madonna loves her and that her family in Malawi does as well. There has been some speculation that at the time of the adoption, Madonna did everything within her power to save a child that she loved from poverty and an increased risk of death. It has been suggested that throughout the process, she wasn’t told the entire truth about the family’s intentions about Mercy. They assert that it was never their intention to relinquish her permanently to anyone.
The family is alleging that Madonna has broken promises of the original agreement that guaranteed visitation rights and eventually returning her back home to her family. Madonna is denying these allegations. After Mercy was adopted, the family claims that they have lost contact with her. Mercy was placed in an orphanage until she was to reach the age of six, because at this point, her immune system would make it safer for her to return home. There was a long string of misunderstandings along the way and this could impact the direction that the custody case will take.
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