#ethical ministry practices

[thinkingonscripture]

Preaching Without Charge: Balancing Support and Self-Support in Ministry

God sometimes supports His ministers through the agency of others who serve as conduits of His grace. The Gospel of Luke informs us that Jesus and His twelve disciples were financially supported by several women who traveled with them (Luke 8:1-3). Luke tells us these women included “Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s…

[dilfsonic]

hi!! I love the sound of ur shadow service animal au it looks so so good. in your mind how does shadow build his own identity outside of his service animal role//what does that look like for him? also what’s Gerald like in the au?

Tysm!!

Hi there!!

Shadow building his own identity will be a long and arduous journey. His purpose in life is one thing, and it’s actually Sonic who inspires him to begin thinking differently. Sonic questions if anyone has ever only had one purpose in life, and this sticks with Shadow, far more than strangers inquiring why he doesn’t try to have a life outside Maria. Sonic doesn’t want Shadow to denounce his role if Shadow does indeed find fulfillment in it, but he does reject the idea that Shadow cannot ever consider alternatives. Maria won’t live forever, and once Shadow’s ‘role’ is considered obsolete, he’ll become government property as he’s technically a government owned asset, considering Gerald’s research was only allowed via sanction from the military and health ministries.

Shadow building his own sense of self comes strongly from his relationship with Sonic. Not necessarily the intimate one, but just in general by getting to know him. Sonic is unfettered freedom who does whatever he wants and comes and goes whenever he pleases. Sonic does not place himself in service to anyone, but him acting in his own self interest is intrinsically beneficial to others around him, and so he’s often helping people out for no particular reason other than it’s what he likes doing. It’s a very different way of life from Shadow’s, and it makes him curious what it’s like to do as he pleases. Of course, helping Maria is what pleases him, but as he spends time with this strange hedgehog he finds there’s other things that can please him, too. Its mind blowing as a revelation.

Now for Gerald; he’s a very complex character in this. We really don’t know how he canonically was personality-wise or how he treated Maria or Shadow, only that he descended heavily into despair and madness that likely twisted him into far more of a monster than he was. That being said, in this au at least, similarly to Shadow and Maria’s relationship being complicated, Gerald and Shadow similarly have a strange dynamic. It’s not necessarily cruel, but it’s not exactly loving either.

Gerald ‘loves’ Shadow in the sense that a) he’s his greatest creation and b) he’s the thing keeping his beloved granddaughter alive and out of eternal quarantine. He does become more fond of him in the way of dads who insist they don’t like or want cats and then can’t help housing the stray kitten their family brings home. As a baby, it’s difficult not to be a little fond of him, but Gerald carefully separates his affection and his necessary work relationship with Shadow, even as a young child. He has and does not shy from punishing Shadow for failure, and has taken his fright out on him during times Maria’s health has declined for some reason. Shadow goes through strenuous experiments and research and doesn’t protest even when his limits are pushed, which Gerald ‘monitors’ but rarely considers Shadow’s feelings on the matter. It’s usually Maria’s presence that will call days short if she’s upset by Shadow’s condition.

Gerald is very strict and reminds Shadow that there’s no room for failure, and certainly contributes to the dehumanization and objectification of him, but even he has his moments of sitting Shadow down and being struck by his creation’s personhood. It’s a very conflicting feeling for him, and if he questioned the ethics of this practice he would be sacrificing any way to save his granddaughter, which he can’t afford to do.

Gerald is a man who will see things as a means to an end. Those methods will be questionable, but anything is worth Maria’s life to him, which he has instilled in Shadow as well.

[thanathicca]

Pathologic Fest Day 1: From the Other Side

Are AUs allowed on @pathologicfest ? Regardless, we are submitting an illustration of our 22nd century Thanatica AU, "imperare sibi maximum imperium est", anyway (ft. transfem Haruspex) :)

Image description is in alt text. News writing, as well as no text versions of the art, are under the cut.

The text:

(note, the fic itself may or may not have this version of the news - we will definitely edit it later)

Is this the end for Thanatica Labs?

THE CAPITAL, 1 OCTOBER 2165

Daniil Dankovsky, founder of Thanatica Laboratories and lead scientist of the first successful mind-uploading device AVA Project, has once again declined an offer of cooperation from a multinational company. The cooperation deal by Vector Tech, which would have netted Dankovsky a record XXX billion, would have Thanatica Labs give away their exclusive rights to the AVA blueprints and let the company build new AVA units with a tiered subscription program.

"We regret that the deal couldn’t be done," Mr. Telman, CEO of Vector Tech, has gone on record to say. "It’s a shame that Thanatica hoards all their progress under Dankovsky’s influence. Our company would have brought your AVA to the whole world! What kind of scientist are you?"

When requested for an interview, Dr. Dankovsky responded, “Thanatica has, and will always, stand with ethical practices. We are scientists who would not gate one’s life behind paywalls. The deal would have made a version of AVA with proprietary Vector Tech operating system, which has gone on record to sell people’s data to third parties, including intelligence agencies. Would you want data submitted the AVA, which would contain your most vulnerable memories, to be sold to the highest bidder? Would you want targeted advertisements in your brain? Moreover, the deal also mentioned using the subscription programs to access certain memories or even brain functions, which meant you could randomly forget the most important moments in your life, or even forget how to solve a crossword, just because you are a little short on money.”

Vector Tech has not responded to an interview request.

.

Plague “Panacea” safety put into question

While the so-called “panacea” for the plague has been lab-tested for human consumption with 100% efficacy, the contents has so far eluded researchers. A scientist of Thanatica Laboratories has been suspected to be its discoverer.

.

Thanatica founder indicted after siege

THE CAPITAL, 2166

A nation-wide warrant has been released for Thanatica Laboratories founder Daniil Dankovsky, 30, who is wanted by our Nation for unethical experimentation, medical negligence, and leaking classified documents from both governmental bodies and private companies.

Dankovsky has fled his laboratory in the Capital alongside his employees after the month-long siege of Thanatica, where he has been requested to reveal the contents of the so-called “panacea” of the plague. The creators of the “panacea” is also wanted for medical fraud and negligence, as well as rejecting government mandate to explain themselves in court, the Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Research and Development.

[beardedmrbean]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A 70-year-old South Korean woman sued her government, an adoption agency, and an orphanage Monday over the adoption of her daughter, who was sent to the United States in 1976, months after she was kidnapped at age 4.

The damage suit filed by Han Tae-soon, whose story was part of an Associated Press investigation published last month, could ignite further debate on the dubious child-gathering practices and widespread falsification of paperwork that tarnished South Korea’s adoption program, which annually sent thousands of kids to the West during the 1970-80s.

It was the first known case of a Korean birth parent suing for damages against the government and an adoption agency over the wrongful adoption of their child, said Kim Soo-jung, one of the lawyers representing Han.

Han searched for her daughter, Laurie Bender, for more than 40 years before they reunited through DNA testing in 2019. Speaking to reporters in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Han argued that the South Korean government was responsible for failing to prevent the adoption of Bender.

Han had reported to police that her daughter was missing and desperately searched for her, frequently visiting police stations, government offices and adoption agencies and even going on Korean media. She had her daughter’s picture displayed everywhere — in subway stations, on lamp posts, on bags of snacks that advertised missing children, the Korean version of American milk cartons.

Han accuses Holt Children’s Services, South Korea’s biggest adoption agency, of facilitating Bender’s adoption without checking her background. Her lawyers said the Jechon Children’s Home made no effort to find the parents after Bender was placed at the facility by police in May 1975, a day after Han reported her as missing.

In her adoption papers, Bender, named Shin Gyeong-ha at birth, is described as an abandoned orphan with no known parents. Under a new Korean name made by the orphanage, Baik Kyong Hwa, she was sent to the United States in February 1976.

“For 44 years, I wandered and searched for my child, but the joy of meeting her was only momentary and now I am in so much pain because we can’t communicate in the same language,” Han said, fighting back tears.

“It turns out they didn’t make an effort to find her clearly existing parents and instead disguised her as an orphan for adoption abroad. I want the government and Holt to explain to us how this happened.”

Kim, the lawyer, said the government is at fault for the botched child search that led to Bender’s adoption, saying she could have easily been found if missing child information was properly shared between police stations or if officers had tried to search orphanages.

“While the state bears the large responsibility for not fulfilling its duty to help find missing children and reunite them with their families, we also believe that the (orphanage) and adoption agency cannot be spared from responsibility as well,” Kim said.

“We suspect that these child protection institutions failed to carry out their ethical obligation to help find the child’s parents, even when the child was saying (she) had a family and had parents.”

Jeon Min Kyeong, another lawyer representing Han, said she is seeking about 600 million won ($445,000) in damages. The lawsuit lists Han, her husband and two of her younger children as plaintiffs, but not Bender, Jeon said.

South Korea’s Justice Ministry, which represents the government in lawsuits, said in a statement to the AP that it wouldn’t comment on an active legal case. Holt didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an earlier interview with the AP, Bender said she was approached by a strange woman while playing near her home in the city of Cheongju. She remembers the woman saying her family didn’t want her anymore because Han had another baby. Distraught, Bender went with the woman, who, after taking her on a train ride, deserted her in Jechon, a city 50 miles away.

After failing to find her daughter for four decades, Han registered her DNA with a nonprofit group called 325 Kamra, which helps Korean adoptees reunite with their families through genetic information. In the United States, Bender took a DNA test because her own daughter was curious about their heritage and 325 Kamra connected them in 2019.

Just weeks after finding her mother, Bender and her daughter flew to Korea to meet Han. Recognizing Bender immediately, Han ran to her, screaming, moaning, running her fingers through Bender’s hair.

“It’s like a hole in your heart has been healed, you finally feel like a complete person,” Bender said. “It’s like you’ve been living a fake life and everything you know is not true.”

The AP investigation, which was also documented by Frontline (PBS), described how the South Korean government, Western nations and adoption agencies worked in tandem to place around 200,000 Korean children in the United States and other Western nations, despite years of evidence that children were being procured through dubious or dishonest means. Western nations ignored these problems and sometimes pressured South Korea to keep the kids coming as they focused on satisfying their huge domestic demands for babies.

In 2019, Adam Crapser became the first Korean adoptee to sue the South Korean government and an adoption agency for damages, accusing them of mishandling his adoption to the United States, where he faced legal troubles after surviving an abusive childhood before being deported in 2016.

After four years of hearings, the Seoul Central District Court last year ordered Crapser’s adoption agency, Holt, to pay him 100 million won ($74,000) in damages for failing to inform his adopters they needed to take separate steps to obtain his citizenship after his adoption was approved by a state court.

However, the court dismissed Crapser’s accusations against the Korean government over alleged monitoring and due diligence failures. The case is now with the Seoul High Court after both Crapser and Holt appealed.

[sparxaf]

Remember how in S2 Lucas talks about how moissanite is better?

If Lucas and Hope were getting married she would totally insist on a real diamond. Do you think he would try and argue with her on it or just take her to Tiffany's?

Hmm, you know I sat on this for a bit, thinking about it and I guess... I don't think she'd insist on a real diamond. Hope isn't actually super into that kind of status in the text of the game, IMHO. She's a businesswoman by day and party-girl by night, who is proud of making her own money. The status she wants is to be seen as successful. Her most enduring trait is self-sufficiency and control is way more important to her than social status. Matter of fact, in the scene where Noah had a little tantrum about the Ministry party, he makes a comment about his clothe and Hope is the one who frustratedly says, "Hon, you have nice clothes!" He doesn't have a ton of money and she never once had an issue with that or seemed concerned about his financial status. One of the biggest issues between them always came down to Noah treating her paternally, attempting to "take care of her," which is something she fundamentally rejects. Which is all to say that I think she's a practical person at heart and being spoiled isn't really her thing. So, I don't think she'd be fussed too much over moissanite versus diamond. Since Lucas is a helper type who wanted to join Doctors Without Borders, I always assumed the moissanite thing was an ethical choice because of the moral quandaries of diamond mining. I think Hope would hear him out on that and be like, "Babe, that's fine. Not even jewelers can tell the difference anyhow!" So yeah. I think it comes down to how you interpret Hope more than Lucas, and I just don't believe she'd care. If she wanted a "real" diamond, she'd go buy herself one. But to play into the hypothetical, if for some reason she did insist on a real one, I think he'd cave, but he wouldn't be happy about it. And they'd have to compromise because he'd want an ethically sourced diamond if he's gonna spend money on it.

Thanks for the ask! This made me reminisce on how much I miss S2's strong characterizations and the LI's unique personalities. God, I loved Lucas.

[thegreenleavesofspring]

By the way, when I say that the American church has FAILED, this is what I'm talking about:

The email I sent to Focus on the Family a couple weeks ago, identifying information redacted:

Hello,

My name is [redacted] and I followed a link to one of your website's articles - about Biblical discipline - and saw the massive donation solicitation banner at the top of the website, saying any donations would go to families in need.

My mother is very much in need.

She is 61 and severely disabled, mentally and physically. In 2016 she had a stroke, which type has a 70% death rate and of the remaining 30%, the vast majority never recover any cognitive or physical function. She is a medical outlier in that she recovered both - through odds so astronomical it is a blatant miracle she survived at all - to some degree. But now her cognitive abilities are declining, as well as her mobility and eyesight: she is effectively 100% disabled.

She is also currently undergoing an eviction since she can no longer pay rent. She had planned to move into her car, but earlier this week it had an oil/engine failure that will require about $7,000 of work to repair. Her insurance would pay for it, save that she has a $1,000 deductible she cannot afford.

She gets $914 a month in disability.

I am a single mother of three boys five and under; my husband has walked out on us and does not pay child support and I cannot get any legal division to enforce it. I make $1,000 a month, and also do not own a car or have any sort of transportation. I order her groceries online and try to get small expenses for her when I can, and that is the most aid I am currently able to offer.

Right now she just needs her car repaired. But we do not have $1,000 for that deductible.

We have spent weeks calling every phone number and resource in the area and even the state. The churches send us to the government, the government sends us to the NGOs, the NGOs send us to the churches. No one helps.

Your website claims you help families. I looked under the "get help" tab and found nothing of any use, hence this email.

Will you help my family?

Sincerely,

~~~~

I got this in return:

Dear [Redacted],

Thank you for writing to Focus on the Family. Your willingness to share your concerns means a lot to us, and we want you to know we care about you, your dear mother, and your children. 

Our hearts are heavy after reading about the serious financial problems your disabled mother is facing right now. We’re especially concerned to hear that her car has broken down and she has no place to call home. Though we realize you’ve already asked for assistance from churches and a number of organizations, we recommend you contact the Salvation Army. You can visit their website at: Salvation Army: Housing and Homeless Services. We’d also like to mention three more online sources of information: National Coalition for the Homeless,  2-1-1 Get Help,  Catholic Charities USA. We can’t guarantee that they will be able to provide the help you need, nor can we say with certainty that they consistently uphold Christian values and ethics. Nevertheless, we think it would be worthwhile to find out what services are available. Please note that our mentioning these organizations should not be taken as an endorsement by our ministry.

Be assured we’re praying for the Lord to comfort your mother, provide for her many needs, and lead her to a safe place to live. We’re also asking God to surround you and your three young sons with caring people who will offer their support and help you in practical ways. 

Along with praying for you, we invite you to call the Christian counselors on our staff if you think it might be helpful to discuss your concerns with caring professionals. They might be able to offer additional suggestions and useful referral information. To reach them, please call 1-855-771-HELP (4357) any weekday between 6:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. (MT). Someone on our staff will ask for your name and phone number in order to arrange for a counselor to return your call as soon as they’re able. This service is available at no cost to you.

[Redacted], we understand you contacted our ministry because you saw a banner on our website indicating that all donations to our ministry are used to help families in need.  In order to provide clarification, we need to explain that the purpose of our ministry is to respond to the spiritual, emotional, and psychological needs of individuals and families. We do this by praying, providing books and other resources, airing broadcasts that address the serious issues many people face, and offering one free consultation with a professional Christian counselor on our staff. The financial contributions we receive are used to accomplish these objectives.

While it’s true that our ministry has been privileged on occasion to provide financial assistance to those experiencing hardships, our capacity to do this is limited as we are primarily a media ministry. Unfortunately, as much as we would like to, we’re not always able to offer monetary aid to the many individuals and families whose needs are brought to our attention. We’re so sorry to disappoint you.

Thanks again for writing to us, [Redacted]. God bless you and your loved ones, and may He always be the strength of your heart and your refuge.

[Redacted]

Focus on the Family

~~~~

I'll hand it to the Catholics. They do try. But their assistance is focused primarily on Catholics - quite understandable - and within their own parishes - equally understandable.

You might as well ask a brick wall for help as any Protestant church. Actually the brick wall probably at least won't - more or less literally - slam a door in your face.

I know good and well that my mother, my family, is not the only one in such dire straits. There is nowhere to turn - least of all our 'brothers' and 'sisters'.

One of these days the leaders of all these churches - these vastly wealthy mega churches and the haughty local churches and all of them - are going to have to answer to Christ about all the blood on their hands of their own people they left to starve and freeze and die in the streets.

(I'd bet good money - if I had any - that they'll have the money to put on a Christmas pageant this year.)

[j-femmescoli]

books i read in 2023

my goal was to read a book a week and while the timeline wasn't perfectly even, i did manage to get it to add up (and then some!). this year i focused on religion and philosophy as well as classics (of which im counting both as traditional "ancient or pre-modern famous and outstanding" types of books, but also famous more modern books). i also bolded some books that were really good in my opinion that have really stuck with me so if you are interested in the genre i'd suggest those

st joan by bernard shaw (play)

mary and your everyday life by bernard haring (theology)

theology of liberation by gustavo gutierrez (theology)

magnificat by elizabeth ruth obbard (theology)

piedras labradas by victor montejo (poetry)

the boy who was raised as a dog by bruce perry and maia szalavitz (psychology)

4 great plays by ibsen - the dollhouse, ghosts, the wild duck, and an enemy of the people by henry ibsen (plays obvi)

the night of the iguanas by tennessee williams (play)

being logical by dq mcinerny (idk sociology maybe? it was about recognizing and avoiding bad-faith arguments and logical fallacies)

the alchemist by paolo coelho (classics)

frankenstein by mary shelly (classics)

an american tragedy by theodore dreiser (classics)

is this wifi organic? by dave farina (idk how to classify this one either but it was also about recognizing bad-faith arguments, specifically when it comes to pseudoscience)

the nicaraguan church and the revolution by joseph muligan (theology, history)

catholic social teaching: our best kept secret by peter henriot, edward deberri, and michael schultheis (theology)

beowulf (classics)

sapiens by yuval noah harari (anthropology)

the church and the second sex by mary daly (theology)

mary in the new testament edited by raymond brown, karl donfried, joseph fitzmyer, and john reumann (theology)

a catholic devotion to mary by oscar lukefahr (theology)

1001 nights / arabian nights trans. sir richard burton (classics)

a house on mango street by sandra cisneros (poetry)

primary source readings in catholic church history edited by robert feduccia and nick wagner (theology)

doing faithjustice by fred kammer, sj (theology)

winds of change by isaac asimov (sci-fi)

the sound and the fury by william faulkner (classics)

una ciudad de la españa cristiana hace mil años by claudio sanchez-albornoz (history)

the glass menajerie by tennessee williams (play)

reinventing the enemy's language by joy harjo and gloria bird (indigenous women writers anthology)

the great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald *reread* (classics)

the bell jar by sylvia plath (classics)

the kite runner by khaled hosseini (classics)

one nation, under gods by peter manseau (history)

development as freedom by amartya sen (economic / political philosophy)

women in ministry: four views edited by bonnidell and robert g clouse (practical theology)

mother of god: a history of the virgin mary by miri rubin (theology / history)

a study in scarlet and the sign of four by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

adventures of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the casebook of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the valley of fear by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the memoirs of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the return of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the hound of the baskervilles by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

his last bow by sir arthur conan doyle (classics)

the fundamentals of ethics, fourth edition by russ shafer landau (philosophy)

dracula by bram stoker (classics) (yes i'm counting dracula daily)

desde mi silencio by carmen gomez (poetry)

happiness in this life, excerpts from the homilies of pope francis (theology)

the vigilante / the snake / the chrysanthemums by john steinbeck (classics)

quest for the living god by sister beth johnson *reread* (theology)

the adventures of tom sawyer by mark twain (classics)

the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain (classics)

the boys in the boat by daniel james brown (history)

and that's all folks, ending the year with some classics, plus my mom insisted i read the boys in the boat while im home for christmas because she wanted to see the movie lol. i got so many books for christmas so i'll be startin off strong next year too, and my goal is finishing my collection of john steinbeck, by which i mean obtaining as well as reading everything i can find by him. here's my list from 2022 and i'll see you next year

[the-emeralds-incorrect]

Dark Arts rant, apperently?

I don’t know how this happened but here we go:

Dark Arts classification makes no fucking sense. It’s technically legal according to wiki?? But throughout the whole series we have the “good” characters be viciously against them. Knockturn Alley is a thing but people are scared to go there. Ministry can just raid Malfoy’s house and fine them for having Dark objects in there so it’s not really legal??

One of the most obvious examples of stigma: in the fifth book they just throw away every dark object they don’t like from Grimmauld. But they have to have an actual use because why the fuck would the Black family just store useless trash at their home. The house that they fucking lived in. This shit could be so fucking useful if they just took the time to learn how to use it. Guys you’re going into a war why are u throwing away potentially very lethal useful weapons

They’re classified as magic that can cause harm but Light spells cause harm all the same and are still taught at school. There’s also an entire subject called Defense Against the Dark Arts. The wiki says they’re divided into jinxes, hexes and curses so at Hogwarts they learn at least one Dark spell (the Knockback Jinx) if we’re going by that logic (tho I can be misunderstanding something)?? We know about the unforgivables, but tbh at least for Avada you could find a way to use it ethically, for example in hospitals. It’s painless death. There could be a consent form you can sign that if for example you’re in a vegetative state, or idk a coma for a set amount of time, or just in fucking misery waiting to die, you can do it painlessly. Idk about you but if I was in horrible pain with no chance of recovery I would prefer that

Also the whole “Dark Arts damage the soul/the only defense against them is love” thing Dumbledore is on is just. So much fucking propaganda. I’m not even getting into it

Now we’re going more into speculation territory, but imo Dark Arts are obviously an important part of wizarding culture, seeing how many old families practice it. They have to be at least stigmatized, and partially illegal, at least in terms of dark objects (would that include books?). We all know how dark creatures are treated, ie werewolves/Remus.

but also, like, I genuinely can not believe all dark arts is designed to harm people. why would generations upon generations of those same families devote their entire lives to that. again and again. Don’t they have better things to do?

The Ministry is against dark arts. Hogwarts is against dark arts. Old timey families value it and hold it to a pedestal.

I suspect there’s some form of government regulations. Like, let’s say you’re making a new spell. I don’t think spellcrafting is a job so you’re just a scholar. You create it, it works, you’re happy. How do you share it with people? Maybe you would like it to be taught at Hogwarts, because you think people would generally benefit from knowing it. But to add it to a school curriculum, you need to get it approved. The Ministry handles it. So you go and register the spell. There’s now a list of approved (light) magic tm

And that’s where I think the distinction comes from. If the Ministry approves it, it’s Light. If they don’t, because they consider it harmful, it’s dark and illegal. And it’s put on a list of illegal things, idk. You can be prosecuted if someone catches you casting it

So Dark Arts are the things, spells, potions, etc, which the Ministry disallows the use of. But it’s also all the things that didn’t even try to register themselves. All the magical innovations that went under the radar.

Of course, you still want to share your inventions with people (or you don’t so you keep it hidden and nobody ever knows about it but we’re not talking about these types of cases here). You publish a book, a paper, something. In secret, of course, because it’s illegal, since it’s not on the LightTM list.

And that’s how the old families learn this shit. It’s a secret book club except the books are self published by the members.

So of course, some of it is harmful. Magic tends to be. But some of it is just not approved, and you don’t question why. You just use it.

(Also, Ollivander has a secret deal with all of these families, that for additional galleons, he removes the trace from the kids’ wands. It’s been like that ever since the distinction between Light and Dark magic came to be. They have to keep the business afloat, am I right?)

[tieflingkisser]

Israeli doctor at detention facility says grim conditions 'break the law'

In a letter to Israeli officials, doctor says Palestinian detainees have had limbs amputated due to handcuff injuries and were forced to defecate in nappies

The unnamed doctor working at the Sde Teiman facility, between Gaza and Bersheeba in the Negev desert, wrote about the experiences in a letter to Israel's defence minister, health minister and the legal adviser to the government. The letter was reported on Thursday by Haaretz.  Sde Teiman was established following the outbreak of war last year, as a temporary facility to detain those accused of participating in Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October. Many of those detained have no connection to Hamas, and have been released after interrogation.  "From the first days of the operation of the medical facility until today, I am faced with difficult ethical dilemmas," the letter stated. "More than that, I am writing to warn that the characteristics of the facility's activities do not comply with law in any of the sections related to the health of imprisoned fighters." The doctor said that the hospital at the facility does not receive a regular supply of medicine and equipment. They also said that all patients are handcuffed on all four limbs for the entire day, with their eyes covered, and fed with a straw, regardless of how dangerous they are. Many are forced to defecate wearing a nappy.  "Under these conditions, in practice even young and healthy patients lose weight after about a week or two of hospitalisation," they said.  Most patients are at the hospital due to an injury developed during their arrest and prolonged shackling, which has caused severe injuries "requiring repeated surgical intervention", according to the doctor.  Three sources told Haaretz that last year a detainee had his hand amputated after being wounded from prolonged handcuffing. The Israeli army said that following an initial probe, there was no wider investigation launched because it did not find a criminal offence. 

[...]

"All of us - the medical teams and you, the level in charge of us in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defence, [are] partners in violating Israeli law, and perhaps worse for me as a doctor - violating my basic commitment to patients, wherever they are patients, as I swore when I graduated 20 years ago."

[stmichaelsministryofgnosis]

TechnoCalyps: Part III The Digital Messiah (2006)

Technocalyps is a three-part documentary series on the notion of transhumanism by Belgian visual artist and filmmaker Frank Theys.

The accelerating advances in genetics, brain research, artificial intelligence, bionics and nanotechnology seem to converge to one goal: to overcome human limits and create higher forms of intelligent life and to create transhuman life. Frank Theys conducts his enquiry into the scientific, ethical and metaphysical dimensions of these technological developments.

The film includes interviews by top scientists and thinkers on the subject worldwide, including Marvin Minsky, Ray Kurzweil, Hans Moravec, Terence McKenna, Bruce Sterling, Robert Anton Wilson, Margaret Wertheim, Rael, the Dalai Lama and many more.

St. Michael's Ministry of Gnosis serves as a sanctuary for literature, religion, scientific research, history, gnosis, and art. Our main practice is the collection and application of knowledge.

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[mariacallous]

Russia’s Education Ministry has proposed removing golf and cheerleading from schools, calling them “foreign practices” out of step with the nation’s “historical experience and traditions and moral and ethical standards”

[tedwardremus]

Related to my Hogwarts is not the only magic school in the UK headcanon and that muggle studies is mandatory at the other schools

I also think Hogwarts missed out on some key subjects:

-Theory of Magic: What is the origin of magic? what are the limits of magic? what are the ethics of magical usage? How has magic evolved through different cultural practices? understanding wand lore, non-verbal magic, and how wizarding magic different than goblin/veela/house elf/ etc. magic

-Latin: the spells they use are based in latin. It would be helpful to know at least the basics

-Government and Econ: I know I mentioned this in my previous post but I think it is funny how the ministry seems to be the largest employer in magical Britain and there isn't a class on it at Hogwarts

-Healing: Magic comes with a lot of bodily harm. Students are hexing each other frequently. Might be worthwhile to learn some minor healing spells.

[electricity-fish]

The other Oblivion beepo please

Gladly. (CW FOR BLOOD AND TALK OF HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION)

Introducing DR E. WARREN

(Just call them Warren.)

As a 16 year old desperate for cash and to get away from a bad home, Warren agreed to join a medical trial, but unknown to them it was luring from the Oblivion Project operating under the Ministry of Joy for something far worse- Experimenting with Void on human subjects.

As the only survivor, they spent years recovering from the physical and mental trauma, but they weren't catching a break yet. With the connection to the Void remaining, the Lord of Darkness had access to their mind, silently influencing them to further his own pursuits (which I talk a little more about Here).

Eventually they were free of his influence, but by that point 12 years had passed, and they found themself working as a biochemical scientist and researcher working with Oblivion, and making it to the very role of the people who experimented on them...

...They don't like to talk about their history too much, especially not those early days of working under the Ministry of the Lord of Darkness.

Now though, they act as Head of the Oblivion Project, and have been a leading force in the push for high ethical standards of practice and making strides in medical research using Void.

They also met an unfortunate demise and subsequent revival as a result of some... Encounters related to the Invitation, but does it really matter if the one in charge of Oblivion also happens to be a vampire?

Personally I don't see a problem with it.

They also have a giant Void lizard named Gus (short for Gustopher)

(Have a question about them? Have a question FOR them? Go right ahead.)

[imaginationxfound]

Hi hello!! I love your works!!! For the ask game, could I ask 15? Thank you

“Do you have an unwritten scene you think about a lot?”

Oh god so many, just from rearrange the stars. So humor me as I post several outline snippets because I haven’t had time to work on it 😭 (in consecutive order)

It’s the Yule Ball! Draco spends most of the dance pining as Harry has a genuinely good time with Luna. Neville sits down next to him and Ginny and is like “Hey Malfoy, if you want people to stop saying you’re gay, maybe you should stop acting like you are.” Ginny laughs, and Draco is very flustered. Neville came here with Hannah Abbot, who’s getting punch. Ginny teases Draco about him being lucky that Harry is oblivious. He’s like “Am I really that obvious…” “Most of the time? No. You’re a good actor, but right now? Transparent. I can practically feel the jealousy radiating off of you, and the two of them are just friends.” Ginny grabs his hand to drag him to dance, to get his mind off it, at least until Luna and Harry are all danced out.

And from the same chapter (I’m so excited for the Yule ball chapter hgfhbdf)

Draco sighs, and tells Harry that he thinks he’s going to go to bed, but he’s actually looking for Rita Skeeter as Harry heads back into the dance, and he finds her, levitating her up and further away from others, before forcing her back to her human form. “You do nearly as much harm to our society as my father does,” He growls, gripping his wand tightly. “You’re not reporting on anything you’ve heard tonight though.” And he modifies her memory, to make her think that all she heard was a few students shagging. No scoops. And then he leaves her. And runs headlong into Luna who goes, “Well that was a bit ethically questionable, wasn’t it? Do you know something because of your time turner?” “How did you--” “You’re in more classes than you have time for. And starting last year you added a gold chain around your neck to the silver one you already had, though both are hidden under your shirt. It wasn’t hard to guess. Daddy always thought that time turners could be an amazing way to maximize education-” “No- They aren’t. Granger burned herself out and dropped two classes so she could turn hers in; and I find it difficult to manage with just one more class than the schedule normally allows. It’s not feasible for most people; it’s stressful.” “Oh. Shame that. But, did you?” “… No, I just know Rita Skeeter. She’s vile; and if I overheard something that ought not be twisted and printed, then she definitely did.” Luna questions when he learned the memory charm- isn’t it supposed to be really difficult? Draco mumbles something about studying a lot- “What’s the silver chain?” “Huh-” “You’re always wearing two chains around your neck; and you try to hide both of them under your shirt collar. The gold one is a time turner; what’s the silver?” “It’s platinum,” He corrects on instinct, then winces. “It’s not really your business, Luna. That’s really personal.” She smiles. “Daddy tells me that there’s actually more than one kind of time turner, but the ministry keeps the others secret. But you don’t have to tell me; it’s fine.” She skips forward and kisses his cheek, but whispers into his ear while close like that. “You’re a good friend Draco, but you’re never gonna change your future if you don’t talk to Harry about how you feel.” She leaves him there, red faced and very confused as to how she got there.

Goddamnit I love Luna

Draco looks at Pomfrey to make sure she’s not listening before leaning close, “so were there any snags?” “No, almost word for word the same.” Ron asks what they’re talking about, and Harry smiles faintly. “Can you wait for Pomfrey to release me for your answer?” Hermione gasps, clapping her hands to her mouth. This is what they were waiting for. The next morning, they’re all in the room of requirement, borrowing Dumbledore’s penisive, which Draco is carefully selecting memories for in front of a very confused Daphne when Harry arrived with the others. “Are you going to tell us about time travel now, Draco?” Luna asks, utterly flabbergasting Hermione. And Harry. “Did- Did you guys tell her???” “No,” Draco laughs, “we didn’t. Potter, you better contribute to this, or it will be very one sided.”

I could go on, but that’s quite enough I think

[revlyncox]

Christmas Eve Homily 2023

As a pluralistic community of seekers, skeptics, agnostics, and theists, we come together on Christmas Eve to consider what inspiration we can find for our ethical and spiritual lives in the Nativity story. This homily was presented to The Unitarian Society in East Brunswick, NJ, on December 24, 2023, by Rev. Lyn Cox.

The Nativity Story is mythic, captivating, and rich in symbolism. It is a culturally important story, one that is necessary to know in order to understand a lot of literature, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. Which elements in the story are historically factual is a somewhat open question. Those who have been attending this congregation since I arrived in September know that I approach wisdom stories from a certain perspective: I don’t know if the story happened exactly this way, but I believe it’s true. A story can convey values and can be the bearer of cultural meaning without being an eyewitness account of past events. 

Unitarian Universalists are a theologically pluralistic bunch. There are Unitarian Universalists those who hold Jesus as a personal savior; those who don’t find personal salvation to be a useful concept but who do think that Jesus is one of the great human spiritual teachers of history; those who hear in Jesus’ teachings a summary of rabbinic Jewish wisdom from the first century; those who consider Jesus an interesting historical figure; and those who aren’t so sure that he existed outside of the stories about him. If one of those positions or none of those positions resonates with you, you are welcome here. What matters to Unitarian Universalists is how we live out our values and mission together. 

Even as we dwell in the mystery and dance in the open spaces of uncertainty, Unitarian Universalists often enjoy celebrating Christmas. We tell the story because it inspires us in our ethical and spiritual pathways. Through the Nativity story, we reflect on hope, peace, joy, and love, and about how we can express those things in our lives. 

The story of the birth of Jesus is a story about hope. Mary and Joseph are regular people living their lives under an oppressive occupying force. They make difficult choices in the face of that oppression: the choice to believe in the possibilities for this child and for their family even when the pregnancy is unusual, the choice to speak about casting down the mighty and sending the rich away empty, the choice to go into hiding for a time but to return and raise their child in an environment that supports his Jewish learning and community values. The shepherds, the wise men, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, all of them operate from a place of hope. Their hope is not only a wishful thinking kind of hope, but the kind of hope that moves them to take risks, to do the next right thing, to live into the world that is possible but not yet fully manifested. 

This is the kind of hope we draw from the story. We need this kind of hope. We might be overwhelmed by climate anxiety, by stories about–or experience with–violence, by a lack of access to healthcare, by economic injustice, or any of a number of things. We read stories of hope and connect with people whose actions are rooted in hope so that we can resist despair. Despair leads us to forget our collective power. Staying connected and committing together to do the next right thing keeps us from getting stuck. We practice hope. 

The Nativity story is about peace. Peace was deeply desired by the people in the story, an escape from the violence of oppression. The shepherds hear the angels call for peace on earth. Those who eventually followed Jesus in his adult ministry found meaning in an old verse about a wonderful counselor, the prince of peace. We also have counterexamples of peace in the story, people who tried to achieve an absence of conflict by suppressing dissent or by following along. True peace is intertwined with justice. World peace was not achieved in the first century of the common era, and it has not been achieved since, but this story reminds us to hold on to peace as a goal and a possibility. 

Peace is very much on many of our minds right now. Many of us are heartbroken by world events in Ukraine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, and in Israel/Palestine. As we tell a story that is set in what is now Israel and Palestine, we remember that there have always been those who wanted to control the region, and there have always been those who resisted the forces of domination. The story asks us to believe that peace is possible, that people can share the land in abundance and collaboration, and that even in the midst of destruction the seeds of another way of being are taking root. Meanwhile, we create peace where we find ourselves by resisting polarization, by finding the spark of humanity in those around us, and by creating justice right where we are. We practice peace.

The story of the birth of Jesus is about joy. There are many things that burden the lives of the people in the story. They live in a difficult place and time. But the arrival of a child still fills them with joy. Good news that moves them to take a journey sustains their joy. Connecting with people who see another way forward deepens their joy. 

For us, in the deepest part of December, joy may be hard to come by. As I said in my sermon last Sunday, there are gifts in the darkness of winter, but these gifts are not always evident to us. And so we pause to gather what joy we can find in the company of fellow wanderers, in acts of generosity and service, in the flickering of small lights made all the more beautiful by the surrounding darkness. We practice joy. 

Finally, the Nativity story is about love. I don’t just mean love as an interior sentiment, though we can imagine that the people in the story felt affection for one another. I mean love that is operationalized through demonstrations of care and consideration. Mary connects with her cousin Elizabeth for mutual encouragement during their pregnancies. The angels express love by communicating directly. The wise men show love when, after their visit with the infant Jesus, they go home by another road rather than sharing information that will endanger him. Joseph demonstrates love by planning travels for his family that will keep them safe. Everyone expresses love for the baby. And Mary ponders all of these things in her heart. 

In our time, in our theologically pluralistic community, our love is rooted in the foundational position that every human being is infused with inherent worth and dignity. The way we say it around this time of year, drawing from Sophia Lyon Fahs, is that each night a child is born is a holy night. And so our love is expressed in respectful and compassionate communication, in caring for one another in times of struggle, in supporting each other in our ethical and spiritual journeys, in holding to our covenants of accountability and restoration, and in simply noticing one another and affirming the inimitable wonder that we find in each person. You matter. In the next twenty-four hours, find a way to remember that you matter, and find a way to tell someone else how they, specifically, as a unique person, matter. Let us celebrate the season by demonstrating care and consideration, and let us carry that spirit forward. We practice love. 

In our rich tapestry of spiritual diversity, we find meaning and connection in the themes of the Nativity story. May the stories, poems, and songs of this evening’s service inspire us with hope, peace, joy, and love; and may we practice these things in our daily lives all year. So be it. Amen. 

[coochiequeens]

I agree that producing babies for adoption is human trafficking but the people who should be punished are those exploiting poor women not the women themselves. And making poor women raise children not theirs is just cruel to born the women and children.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The baby was not hers, not really.

Hun Daneth felt that, counted on that. When she gave birth to the boy, who didn’t look like her, she knew it even more.

But four years after acting as a surrogate for a Chinese businessman, who said he had used a Russian egg donor, Ms. Hun Daneth is being forced by the Cambodian courts to raise the little boy or risk going to jail. The businessman is in prison over the surrogacy, his appeal denied in June.

Even as she dealt with the shock of raising the baby, Ms. Hun Daneth dutifully changed his diapers. Over the months and years, she found herself hugging and kissing him, cajoling him to eat more rice so he could grow big and strong. She has come to see this child as her own.

“I love him so much,” said Ms. Hun Daneth, who is looking after the boy with her husband.

The fates of a Cambodian woman, a Chinese man and the boy who binds them together reflect the intricate ethical dilemmas posed by the global surrogacy industry. The practice is legal — and often prohibitively expensive — in some countries, while others have outlawed it. Still other nations with weak legal systems, like Cambodia, have allowed gray markets to operate, endangering those involved when political conditions suddenly shift and criminal cases follow.

When carried out transparently with safeguards in place, supporters say, commercial surrogacy allows people to expand their families while fairly compensating the women who give birth to the children. Done badly, the process can lead to the abuse of vulnerable people, whether the surrogates or the intended parents.

The practice flourishes in the nebulous space between those who can and cannot bear children; between those with the means to hire someone to bear their biological offspring and the women who need the money; and between those whose sexuality or marital status means they can’t adopt or otherwise become parents and those whose fertility spares them having to face such restrictions.

Cambodia became a popular surrogacy destination after crackdowns in other Asian countries nearly a decade ago. Foreigners flocked to newly opened fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies in Phnom Penh, the capital.

As the industry flourished, the government imposed a ban on surrogacy, promising to pass legislation officially outlawing it. The ill-defined injunction, imposed in a graft-ridden country with little rule of law, ended up punishing the very women the government had vowed to safeguard.

In 2018, Ms. Hun Daneth was one of about 30 surrogates, all pregnant, who were nabbed in a police raid on an upmarket housing complex in Phnom Penh. Although Cambodia to this day has no law specifically limiting surrogacy, the government criminalized the practice by using existing laws against human trafficking, an offense that can carry a 20-year sentence. Dozens of surrogates have been arrested, accused of trafficking the babies they birthed.

In a poor country long used as a playground by foreign predators — pedophiles, sex tourists, factory bosses, antique smugglers and, yes, human traffickers — the Cambodian authorities said they were on the lookout for exploitation.

“Surrogacy means women are willing to sell babies and that counts as trafficking,” said Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the ministry of interior and vice chair of the national countertrafficking committee. “We do not want Cambodia to be known as a place that produces babies to buy.”

But applying a human trafficking law to surrogacy has imposed the heaviest costs on the surrogates themselves. Nearly all of those arrested in the 2018 raid gave birth while imprisoned in a military hospital, some chained to their beds. They, along with several surrogacy agency employees, were convicted of trafficking the babies.

Their sentencings, two years later, came with a condition: In exchange for suspended prison terms, the surrogates would have to raise the children themselves. If the women secretly tried to deliver the children to the intended parents, the judge warned, they would be sent to prison for many years.

This means that women whose financial precarity led them to surrogacy are now struggling with one more mouth to feed. The intended parents are separated from their flesh and blood. And surrogacy, a well-regulated practice in places like the United States, Georgia and Ukraine, has been relegated to the shadows in Cambodia.

From behind the bars of a courthouse in Phnom Penh, Xu Wenjun, the intended father of the boy to whom Ms. Hun Daneth gave birth, spoke quickly, his words tumbling out before the police intervened. He has been in prison for three years.

“My son must be big by now,” said Mr. Xu, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit. “Do you think he remembers me?”

‘Where did he come from?’

Amid a cloud of mosquitoes, near a pile of garbage sodden from recent rains, a boy ran up to Ms. Hun Daneth, still in her factory uniform. She scooped up her son and sniffed his cheek, a sign of affection in parts of Southeast Asia.

Ms. Hun Daneth, now 25, decided to become a surrogate for the same reason as the others: debt, lots of it.

Over the past few years, Cambodian households have become some of the most indebted on earth, victims of a microfinance crisis. Once touted as a transformational tool for lifting families out of poverty, microfinance has in some countries, Cambodia included, devolved into a predatory scheme trapping millions in cycles of dependency.

Local banks compete to offer microfinance loans that can balloon fast. Ms. Hun Daneth said her family took out multiple loans, some just to service interest payments that exceeded 10 percent a month.

“At first it was a few hundred dollars,” Ms. Hun Daneth said, of her family’s burden. “Then it was thousands of dollars.”

Like nearly a million other Cambodians, mostly women, she had left the countryside to stitch together T-shirts and bras, gym bags and sweatshirts in factories. But a couple hundred dollars a month doesn’t go far in the cities.

A scout at the garment factory where Ms. Hun Daneth worked told her of a way out. She could earn $9,000 — about five times her annual base salary — by acting as a surrogate.

She knew of villages outside Phnom Penh where imposing concrete houses, said to have been built from surrogacy payments, loomed over bamboo shacks.

“They paid off their debts,” Ms. Hun Daneth said. “Their lives could start like new.”

The scout was connected to an agency managed locally by a Chinese man and his Cambodian wife. Her sister ran luxury villas where the surrogates stayed.

Eight surrogates who spoke to The New York Times described chandeliers, air conditioning and flush toilets in the villas, none of which they enjoyed at home. Their meals were plentiful. The women dreamed about the money they would earn. They also thrilled at the notion that they were providing a desperately needed service.

“I was helping give someone a baby,” Ms. Hun Daneth said. “I wanted to give that joy.”

Mr. Xu, a prosperous businessman from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, was matched with Ms. Hun Daneth. The one thing he was missing, he told friends who spoke to The Times, was a son to continue the family line.

Most of the Chinese babies carried by Cambodian surrogates are boys. Sex selection is banned in China, but not in Cambodia. Commercial surrogacy is not openly practiced in China, despite official concern about the country’s plummeting birthrate after decades of a brutally enforced one-child policy.

In Cambodian court testimony, Mr. Xu said his wife could not bear a child. But Mr. Xu’s friends, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of antagonizing the Cambodian authorities, said that his situation was more complicated: He had no wife and was open about being gay. Ms. Hun Daneth said Mr. Xu told her about his sexuality. L.G.B.T.Q. couples cannot adopt in China, and gay or single individuals are precluded from surrogacy in most countries where that practice is legal.

Perfect Fertility Center, or P.F.C., a surrogacy agency registered in the British Virgin Islands, showed rare sympathy for L.G.B.T.Q. intended parents, promising babies via Cambodia, Mexico and the United States. The company’s website is illustrated with photos of same-sex couples cradling babies.

P.F.C. was founded by Tony Yu, who turned to Cambodian surrogates for his own children. Mr. Yu, who is openly gay, said Cambodian lawyers assured him that his agency was legal.

It was a multinational operation that spanned continents. Mr. Yu partnered with a fertility clinic in Phnom Penh run by a Vietnamese person. There, a German fertility specialist trained Cambodian doctors. An Indian logistics expert flew in with eggs harvested from donors.

In 2017, Mr. Xu signed a contract with P.F.C., agreeing to pay $75,000 for surrogacy in Cambodia, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.

Mr. Xu visited Ms. Hun Daneth at the luxury villa. He told her that the egg donor was a Russian model, and he later showed Ms. Hun Daneth and her husband photographs of a white woman with wavy hair standing next to a sports car.

Mr. Yu, the agency founder, said that many of its egg donors came from Russia, Ukraine and South Africa. The intended fathers were Chinese, and many were gay.

“Mixed-race children are popular with our clients,” said Mr. Yu.

For the Cambodian surrogates, being forced to raise children from other ethnicities can create additional strains in their families and their communities. The children’s features make it hard to explain their origins.

“People wonder, ‘Why does he have brown hair? Where did he come from?’” said Vin Win, 22, another surrogate who was arrested with Ms. Hun Daneth.

Ms. Vin Win’s husband resents the child she bore, she said. They have separated. She hopes the boy will get more than the third-grade education she received.

“I look at my son, and I feel pity because I think he should be living in a nice place,” Ms. Vin Win said. “This is not his real home.”

‘Disaster happened’

The police swarmed past the compound’s marble arches and burst into the two villas, handcuffing pregnant women who had been dozing on their pink-framed beds or lounging on sofas playing Candy Crush.

The police operation in July 2018 followed a regionwide crackdown on commercial surrogacy. Three years before, Thailand had banned the practice for foreigners, shutting down a cheaper alternative to surrogacy in the West, which can cost more than $150,000.

Two cases spooked the Thai authorities. One involved an Australian couple accused of refusing a baby boy with Down syndrome. A judge in Australia later found that the couple had not abandoned the child; the boy remained in Thailand, with the surrogate.

The other case raised concerns about baby trafficking after a Japanese man fathered at least 16 children by Thai surrogates. A Thai court eventually granted the man custody over most of the children after he said that he wanted a large family.

India and Nepal also limited surrogacy for noncitizens. In many of these cases, politicians spoke of the sanctity of the maternal bond and the purity of Asian women.

With options narrowing, Cambodia beckoned. Fertility clinics in Thailand moved across the border. Intended parents arrived from Australia, the United States and, most of all, China.

Ten Cambodian women who spoke to The Times, including the eight who were arrested in 2018, said surrogacy was their choice.

As the surrogacy business blossomed, a senior official from the ruling party questioned whether foreigners should be paying for access to Cambodian women.

With its compromised courts and pliant legal system, Cambodia has been plagued with exploitation, by foreigners and by its own citizens. The government of Hun Sen, the world’s longest-serving prime minister and a former functionary for the murderous Khmer Rouge, has been tied to systemic corruption and the erasure of human rights.

Late in 2016, the Cambodian Ministry of Health announced the ban on surrogacy, but did so without adopting new legislation making it a crime. In the resulting gray space, fertility clinics and surrogacy agencies continued to open up.

The raids began the next year. An Australian nurse and two Cambodian staff members at a fertility clinic that worked with surrogates were convicted of human trafficking.

Mr. Yu, who was not in Cambodia when the police raided the villas, said he’d had no idea that his agency was breaking any law. Lotus Fertility, one of the clinics the agency relied on to perform in vitro fertilization for surrogates, operated out of Central Hospital, a private facility with a strong political pedigree. The hospital’s director and deputy director are the daughter-in-law and son of Dr. Mam Bunheng, Cambodia’s health minister. The hospital has not responded to requests for comment.

“I wanted to do everything legally and openly,” Mr. Yu said. “With the fertility clinic, everyone said, ‘Everything is safe, everything is comfortable, they have a good background,’ so I believed them.”

“But then disaster happened,” he added.

Ms. Hun Daneth said she’d had a sense that she wasn’t supposed to talk too openly about what she was doing. Four other surrogates said they were warned by agency staff not to stroll outside the villa complex.

In documents for Mr. Xu’s payment to P.F.C.’s bank account, an addendum cautions: “Do not note surrogacy-related words when transferring money.”

A Cambodian employee of Lotus Fertility, who agreed to speak only if her name was not used, said that the clinic filed documentation stating that all the in vitro fertilizations were for prospective Cambodian mothers, even though it was clear many of the women were surrogates.

Lotus Fertility has closed. A representative for the clinic blamed the coronavirus for the closure.

In testimony this spring before the United Nations-linked Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms. Chou Bun Eng, the government official, dodged questions about the children born of imprisoned surrogates.

“The committee does not take a position on whether surrogacy is wrong or right,” said Ann Skelton, a children’s rights lawyer and member of the committee. “But we are concerned about a situation that does not uphold the rights of the women, the intended parents and, of course, the children.”

‘Our babies are the crime’

Chained to a military hospital bed in August 2018, Ms. Hun Daneth delivered a baby with soft brown hair, a pale complexion and the same wide eyes as his intended father.

Another surrogate, Phay Sopha, gave birth sprawled on the cement floor of the military hospital, no midwife in sight.

“The baby came out, and I thought, ‘It looks Chinese,’” Ms. Phay Sopha said. “Then I passed out.”

After Mr. Yu, by his account, paid the police nearly $150,000, the surrogates were released. In total, Mr. Yu said he spent more than $740,000 trying to fix the situation, money paid in cash to intermediaries or to anonymous bank accounts.

A spokesman for the Cambodian National Police, Chhay Kimkhoeun, questioned Mr. Yu’s claim.

“First, is there any evidence of what is said?” he said. “Second, if there is factual evidence, they can file a complaint.”

Ms. Phay Sopha now works at a garment factory, from 6:30 in the morning to 8 at night. She rents a boardinghouse room barely long enough to fit her outstretched body. The child, she said, is back in her village, being raised by her mother.

The government ordered a Christian charity, founded by Americans to combat child sex trafficking, to check up on the women after they gave birth, officials said. Some surrogates said they also had to report to the police station, children in tow.

“It was like we were criminals,” said Ry Ly, another surrogate. “Our babies are the crime.”

Most of the women are struggling financially. Soeun Pheap, aunt to Chan Nak, a surrogate who gave birth to twins, said her niece fed the babies water thickened with a squirt of condensed milk. After living for a while with her aunt, Ms. Chan Nak left abruptly with the babies. She sent another surrogate a message saying she was out of the country and would be returning without the twins.

Despite the surrogates’ promises to the court that they would raise the babies, a good number of the children are no longer in Cambodia and have been united with their Chinese parents, Mr. Yu said.

Mr. Xu, the Chinese businessman now in jail, went to Cambodia to try to extricate his child. He contacted Ms. Hun Daneth directly, even though the agency had warned him to keep a low profile. He bought toys and diapers for the boy, whom he called Yeheng in Mandarin, a name alluding to karmic perseverance.

Mr. Xu submitted a paternity test to the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh. In 2019, he secured a passport for the boy.

A worker from the Christian charity accompanied Mr. Xu to the police station to finish up paperwork. The founder of the surrogacy agency warned Mr. Xu that it was a setup by the police. Officers were waiting. He has been imprisoned ever since.

Representatives for the charity, Agape International Missions, would not comment on Mr. Xu’s arrest.

In 2020, Mr. Xu was convicted of human trafficking and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In June, his appeal was denied.

“Are they serious that he is trafficking his own child?” said May Vannady, Mr. Xu’s lawyer, waving a notarized copy of the paternity test.

Mr. May Vannady says they will take their appeal to the Supreme Court. Ms. Chou Bun Eng, the government official, said that the conviction should stand. She suggested that Chinese gangs wanted to harvest organs from children born of Cambodian surrogates.

This spring, Ms. Hun Daneth took a day off work and rode a motorized rickshaw to the appeals court in Phnom Penh. Mr. Xu didn’t mean any harm, she told the judge. He only wanted a son. He was not a baby trafficker.

Still, she told the court, she had grown attached to the boy. After the hearing, Ms. Hun Daneth said she had decided to move back to the countryside because she did not want anyone to kidnap her son. She didn’t like it when Chinese-speaking people showed up at her home.

“No one will take him from me,” she said. “He is mine.”