Unit VII Journal/Unit VII Assignment/Unit VIII Journal/Unit VIII Research Paper

Running Head: FOREIGN ADOPTION

Foreign Adoption And Why It Should be Halted

Jovan Maires

Columbia Southern University

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Introduction

To date, there are millions of children all over the world who have either been abandoned

or orphaned and hence put up for adoption. Without care and access to basic needs, many of

these children have found themselves bundled in orphanages, and for the less fortunate, they

have grown up as street kids. On the other hand, the lucky ones find foster parents in faraway

lands in developed countries such as the United States of America (USA) where they stand to

benefit from better living standards. However, many individuals in the developed world may be

duped that there is a world orphan crisis (Mignot, 2015).

That is, many believe that there are millions of children in the third world countries.

Indeed, while there are orphans and abandoned children in the developing third world countries

who are needy, sick, disabled as well as traumatized, there are not the ones who get adopted.

Statistics show that those who get adopted are often healthier and less needy than those who

deserve adoption. Thus, it can be asserted that foreign adoption is not achieving its course for

finding homes for needy children in the third world countries but instead, it is helping the

families in the western countries find children (Mignot, 2015).

This therefore begs the question where the foreign babies who are adopted by the western

homes come from. Literature shows that these babies are systematically bought such that their

birth families are coerced into giving them away. For this reason, foreign adoption is mostly

fulfilling the self-interests of Western homes that need children. This can also be deduced from

the fact that some countries which have historically been the top sources for international

adoption such as Ethiopia, have implemented a moratorium on foreign adoption to save the

domestic families from this systematic kidnapping (Graff, 2009).

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Literature Review

In relative terms, the number of incidents of foreign adoption has nearly doubled since

the 1990s. For instance, the USA recorded about 22,000 foreign adoptions in 1995 while in

2006, there were about 40,000 international adoption incidences. The top sources for these

children have been developing countries such as Belarus, Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, Peru, as

well as Romania. It is reasonable to assume that the essence of adoption of whatever nature is to

facilitate needy children find homes where they can get love and their basic needs attended to.

While this is true, foreign adoption seems to have become a market that is being driven by the

customers rather than the neediness of the children (Gere, Wong & Hoshmand, 2006).

Statistics show that in the U.S, families seeking foreign toddlers for adoption commit

between $15,000 to $35,000 to international adoption agencies to get children who meet their

specifications. Most families seek for healthy children and preferably younger than 5 years old.

However, there are still children with special needs or even older children who are still adopted

but at a lower cost than the younger ones. This kind of disproportion has in turn led to cases of

corruption in the adoption process (Graff, 2009).

There are those who believe that it would be misleading to consider the international

adoption industry as an industry driven mainly by money. This is because there are only a few

isolated cases where corruption has driven the adoption process. That is, most of the international

adoptions are in good faith and hence foreign adoption should be allowed to continue (Mignot,

2015).

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Proponents of International Adoption

Proponents of foreign adoption draw their course on the humanitarian foundation for

which it began about seven decades ago. The children adopted by USA homes were those

abandoned or orphaned as a result of war in countries such as Korea. Thus, such children were

able to find homes where despite their birth parents passing away, they could still get care and

love that they needed at that tender age. At the same time, families who do not have a chance to

bear their won children are given a chance to raise and love children who they can legally call

their own (Gere, Wong & Hoshmand, 2006).

Opponents of Foreign Adoption

Opponents of foreign adoption base their argument on the fact that this process takes

advantage on the dire physical needs and illiteracy of birth parents of infants and toddlers

especially in the developing third world countries. That is, foreign adoption is systemic

kidnapping and human trafficking. This is because, most of the orphans and abandoned children

in the source countries rarely meet the criteria put out by international adoption agencies. These

orphans and abandoned children are rarely healthy and live in crowded orphanages where they

often do not get all their basic needs met. Thus, most of them are left out by the Western homes

looking for healthy infants and toddlers to adopt. This effectively leaves the adoptable orphans

and abandoned children unadopted (Graff, 2009).

Moreover, opponents believe that the international adoption market is largely

unregulated. This implies that the international adoption agencies target source countries where

there are lax laws on adoption and less protection for the birth parents. Hence, the birth parents

because of their illiteracy, low wages and hence poverty, there are forced to give up their

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children with the hope that they will benefit from a better life abroad. Therefore, the benefit of

foreign adoption is skewed in favor of the western families as opposed to helping the needy

children and hence should be discouraged altogether (Graff, 2009).

Body of the Research Paper

Many people may find it hard to understand why some people give their children up for

adoption. Many reasons are present, and in most cases, what their parents wish is for their

children to be raised in a family where they receive all the basic needs (Neil, 2017). Some

women give up their children once their husbands die or if they are single and have a child. Most

of these women, once their husbands are deceased, they find it hard to provide for them and their

children. Lack of finances makes them give up their children for adoption so that they cannot

raise them in misery. Also, if the mother is deceased, the father may give up a child for adoption

because they might be incapable of raising them alone. A child is better raised in a family where

both parents exist because both of them play an essential role in raising them. Therefore, people

should not judge those who give their children up for adoption because several factors are put

into consideration.

Adoptive parents adopt children for many reasons. The adoption process is meant to help parents

that cannot have their biological children get kids that they can raise and love as their own. An

example of parents that cannot get their own children are the infertile ones. Research shows that

one in eight women has been determined to be infertile. Infertility may happen where either the

man or woman is infertile among the parents, therefore, causing problems in conception. Another

evidence is for the women that can conceive but are unable to carry the child to the required term

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due to a condition that is present in the body. Such women may decide not to risk their lives and

that of the baby and consider adoption as an alternative option. Some other reasons occur, such

as cases of lesbian and gay marriages where they cannot have children of their own. A

controversy exists as to whether same-sex parents should adopt children (Tasker & Bellamy,

2019). Other single parents who wish not to get married adopt children to raise them while others

choose to adopt as a way of helping the children get into a home. Therefore, adoption is

considered as a way of providing homes for the children in foster facilities.

Before parents get full accreditation for adopting a child, a lot of obstacles are encountered along

the way. Several rules govern adoption, and also the parents have to ensure that they adopt a

child of their liking (Palacios et al., 2019). The first step before adopting a child is the home

study. The step is meant to establish whether the parents are ready to adopt a child and if the

environment is suitable for the better development of the child. Here, a survey can be conducted

whereby a social worker can survey the environment and interview the family members to

establish their readiness. Another challenge is choosing the right child for the set environment.

After passing the home study stage, parents have the responsibility to select a child or an

adolescent that they think will be suitable according to their liking. The social worker then has to

approve the procedure and ensure that the child is best for the set of parents. Some social

workers fail to approve LGBT adoptions because of negative attitude (Goldberg et al., 2019).

Therefore, the process of adoption can be challenging, and adoptive parents need to prepare

themselves before they start the process.

In conclusion, the adoption process may be tiring and may need a lot of patience from all the

parties that are involved. The biological parents need to have valid reasons that cause them to

give up their children for adoption. On the other hand, adoptive parents need to have sufficient

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surroundings that support a better environment for the development of the children. Also, rules

need to be followed, especially parents that adopt children internationally. Biological parents

should be sure of their actions to prevent cases where they come to reclaim their children for

adoptive parents.

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References

Gere, S, H., Wong, Y., & Hoshmand, T, L. (2006). International Adoption and the Case of

China: Implications of Policy, Theory, and Research for Psychoeducation and

Counselling. Asian Journal of Counselling, 13(1), p.10-29.

Graff, J, E. (2009). The Lie We Love. Foreign Policy. Retrieved from

https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/the-lie-we-love/.

Mignot, J, F. (2015). Why is Intercountry adoption declining worldwide?. Population &

Societies, 7(519), p. 20-37.

Neil, E. (2017). Helping birth parents in adoption. A literature review of birth parent support

services, including supporting post adoption contact. An expertise for the German

Research Center on Adoption (EFZA). München: Deutsches Jugendinstitut eV.

Tasker, F., & Bellamy, C. (2019). Adoption by same-sex couples--reaffirming evidence: could

more children be placed?. Family Law.

Palacios, J., Adroher, S., Brodzinsky, D. M., Grotevant, H. D., Johnson, D. E., Juffer, F., ... &

Tarren-Sweeney, M. (2019). Adoption in the service of child protection: An international

interdisciplinary perspective. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 25(2), 57.

Goldberg, A. E., Frost, R. L., Miranda, L., & Kahn, E. (2019). LGBTQ individuals' experiences

with delays and disruptions in the foster and adoption process. Children and Youth

Services Review, 106, 104466.

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Comment Summary Page 1

1. Your title is clear but also a little awkward. Could you come up with something pithier? Page 2

2. Can you be more exact? How many children around the world are orphans? How many are adopted by Americans each year?

3. Why do you say "lucky"? 4. Do you mean orphans, here, rather than children? 5. Why do these couples adopt and why do they adopt overseas? 6. This could be better explained. Do you mean that poor families have a financial incentive to sell children?

Page 3 7. Most if not all of this information isn't "common knowledge" in the academic sense and so needs a source, cited

correctly. You do not want to be accused of plagiarism. 8. The "for" isn't needed.

Page 4 9. Do you mean that they contend that the adoptions are humanitarian? Can you explain why?

10. It should be, "take advantage of." Page 5

11. Your goal should be a simple, direct style: “Many widows find it hard to provide for their children and poverty forces them to give up their children for adoption.”

Page 6 12. Here, too, you can be more concise: “The first step is the home study, conducted by a social worker, which is

meant to establish whether the parents are ready to adopt a child and if the environment is suitable for the child.”

13. I think your conclusions need work. If we stop adoption should we also do more to help alleviate poverty and so help these children more directly?

Page 8 14. This is correctly formatted.