2021 Georgia Code
Title 19 - Domestic Relations
Chapter 8 - Adoption
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-8-24. Advertising Restrictions and Requirements; "Inducements" Defined; Unlawful Inducements; Penalties; Exemption for Personal Communications; Civil Actions

1. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association of any kind whatsoever which is not a child-placing agency, a prospective adoptive parent who has a valid, approved preplacement home study report, or an attorney who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia representing a prospective adoptive parent who has a valid, approved preplacement home study report to advertise, whether in a periodical, by television, by radio, or by any other public medium or by any private means, including, but not limited to, letters, circulars, handbills, Internet postings including social media, and oral statements, that the person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association will adopt children or will arrange for or cause children to be adopted or placed for adoption.
   2. 1. Any person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association of any kind which is not a child-placing agency that places an advertisement concerning adoption or prospective adoption shall include in such advertisement its license number issued by the department;
      2. Any attorney representing a prospective adoptive parent who has a valid, approved preplacement home study report who places an advertisement concerning adoption or prospective adoption shall include in such advertisement his or her State Bar of Georgia license number; and
      3. Any individual who places an advertisement concerning being an adoptive parent shall include in such advertisement that he or she has a valid, approved preplacement home study report.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association of any kind whatsoever to sell, offer to sell, or conspire with another to sell or offer to sell a child for money or anything of value, except as otherwise provided in this article.
3. 1. As used in this subsection, the term "inducements" means any financial assistance, either direct or indirect, from whatever source, but shall expressly not include:
      1. The payment or reimbursement of the medical expenses directly related to the biological mother's pregnancy and hospitalization for the birth of the child and medical care for such child if paid by a licensed child-placing agency or an attorney;
      2. The payment or reimbursement of expenses for counseling services or legal services for a biological parent that are directly related to the placement by such parent of her or his child for adoption if paid by a licensed child-placing agency or an attorney;
      3. The payment or reimbursement of reasonable living expenses for the biological mother if paid by a licensed child-placing agency; or
      4. The payment or reimbursement of reasonable expenses for rent, utilities, food, maternity garments, and maternity accessories for the biological mother if paid from the trust account of an attorney who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia in good standing.
   2. It shall be unlawful for any person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association of any kind whatsoever to directly or indirectly hold out inducements to any biological parent to part with his or her child.
   3. It shall be unlawful for any person, organization, corporation, hospital, facilitator, or association of any kind whatsoever to conspire with another to offer or provide inducements to a biological parent to part with his or her child.
   4. It shall be unlawful for an individual to knowingly make false representations in order to obtain inducements.
   5. The report and affidavit filed pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) of Code Section 19-8-13 shall include an itemized accounting of all expenses paid or reimbursed pursuant to this subsection.
4. 1. It shall be unlawful for an individual to knowingly accept expenses as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(C) or (c)(1)(D) of this Code section for the adoption of her child or unborn child if she knows or should have known that she is not pregnant or is not a legal mother.
   2. It shall be unlawful for an individual to knowingly accept expenses as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(C) or (c)(1)(D) of this Code section from an adoption agency or an attorney without disclosing that he or she is receiving such expenses from another adoption agency or attorney in an effort to allow for the adoption of the same child or unborn child.
   3. It shall be unlawful for an individual to knowingly make false representations in order to obtain expenses as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(C) or (c)(1)(D) of this Code section.
   4. It shall be unlawful for an individual to make false representations as to the existence of a pregnancy or the intention to place a child for adoption when such individual knows or should have known that the person purported to be pregnant is not pregnant or that the person purported to be offering the child for adoption has no intention of placing the child for adoption, and such representations cause another to expend financial resources or take other specific steps, including, but not limited to, travel or retaining the services of an attorney, agency or social worker, toward adoption of a child in reasonable reliance on such representations.
5. Any person who violates this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.00, imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years, or both and shall further be subject to a court order requiring such person to make restitution to a victim harmed by such person's violation.
6. 1. Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to communication by private means, including written or oral statements, by an individual seeking to:
      1. Adopt a child or children; or
      2. Place that individual's child or children for adoption,

         whether the communication occurs before or after the birth of such child or children.

   2. Subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to any communication described in paragraph (1) of this subsection which contains the name of an attorney who is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, his or her address, his or her telephone number, or any combination of such information and which requests that the attorney named in such communication be contacted to facilitate the carrying out of the purpose, as described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, of the individual making such personal communication.
7. 1. Any child-placing agency or individual who is seeking to adopt or seeking to place a child for adoption who is damaged by a violation of this Code section may file a civil action to recover damages, treble damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and expenses of litigation.
   2. Any individual who is seeking to adopt or seeking to place a child for adoption who is damaged by a violation of this Code section may file a civil action in tort, provided that such individual would have an existing tort claim under Georgia law.

(Code 1981, §19-8-24, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 19; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1640, § 11; Ga. L. 2004, p. 449, § 1; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159; Ga. L. 2021, p. 151, § 12/HB 154.)

The 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, rewrote this Code section.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, added paragraph (d)(4); inserted "and shall further be subject to a court order requiring such person to make restitution to a victim harmed by such person's violation" at the end of subsection (e); and, in subsection (g), designated the existing provisions as paragraph (g)(1) and added paragraph (g)(2).

- False, misleading, advertising, § 10-1-420 et seq.

- For article, "Who is Georgia's Mother? Gestational Surrogacy: A Formulation for Georgia's Legislature," see 38 Ga. L. Rev. 395 (2003). For note, "Carrying Capacity: Should Georgia Enact Surrogacy Regulation?," see 54 Ga. L. Rev. 333 (2019).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Constitutionality.

- O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24 was sufficiently clear to apprise the defendant that offering an automobile to a mother in exchange for physical custody or control of her child was proscribed. Douglas v. State, 263 Ga. 748, 438 S.E.2d 361 (1994).

- Surrendering parents were not induced to give up their child for adoption simply because they were offered shelter by the father's aunt, or because the adopting parents had provided care for the child at the surrendering parents' request. Hicks v. Stargel, 226 Ga. App. 639, 487 S.E.2d 428 (1997).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Editor's notes.

- In light of the similarity of the statutory provisions, opinions under Ga. L. 1941, p. 300, § 17 and former § 19-8-19, as last amended by Ga. L. 1979, p. 1182, § 13, are included in the annotations for this Code section.

- General definition of advertisement would seem to dictate that when an individual, as a course of action, spreads information by word of mouth to various people with whom the individual comes into contact announcing that the individual occasionally knows unmarried mothers and would welcome inquiries from persons desiring to adopt their illegitimate children, such oral statements would be an advertisement and violative of Ga. L. 1941, p. 300, § 17. 1967 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 67-31 (decided under Ga. L. 1941, p. 300, § 17).

- Although a potential adoptive couple may send personal communications expressing an interest in adoption, "networking" letters which involve an attorney in the placement of children are unlawful advertisements within the meaning of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24. Attorneys may provide necessary legal services in connection with adoptions; however, attorneys may not provide placement services unless licensed as a child-placing agency. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 90-42.

Payment of lost wages to an expectant mother of a child to be placed for adoption was clearly barred by subsection (b) of former § 19-8-19. 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U86-21 (decided under former § 19-8-19, as last amended by Ga. L. 1979, p. 1182, § 13).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- What constitutes undue influence in obtaining a parent's consent to adoption of child, 50 A.L.R.3d 918.

Criminal liability of one arranging for adoption of child through other than licensed child placement agency ("baby broker acts"), 3 A.L.R.4th 468.

Validity of agreement to pay expenses attendant on birth of child on condition that natural parents consent to adoption of child, 43 A.L.R.4th 935.