International Adoption

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International Adoption

When a mission team from south Florida arrived in Camp Haitia, they saw what to them was the most poverty stricken land on earth. Some of the men were literally ill at the sight of the filth in the rivers, on the land, and covering the children. Because Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world, families do not even have enough to provide for their children, and many of them are left to fend for themselves. The mission team witnessed them bathing in polluted waters and scrounging for non-existent food. I asked one member of this mission team if adoption was a possibility for any of these kids. His response was enthusiastic and emotional. I witnessed first hand for months his diligent efforts to rescue at least one Haitian child from a hopeless life. However, in his efforts, my father was faced with an issue aside from the finances and legalities of the adoption procedure. Many questioned if it was ethical for our family to adopt a child from a different culture. Our answer was simple. Yes, international adoption is logical and ethical.

Two main reasons why so many Americans are seeking foreign adoptions are humanitarianism and frustration with the laws and policies in domestic adoption (Kleiman). Critics of international adoption argue that Americans should not look elsewhere for children when there are so many needy ones right here in our country. However, there are more families seeking children than there are children who need homes. Over the past thirty years there has been a decline of domestic adoptions by 47 percent (Fulton 2). Some reasons that there are fewer children being placed for adoption are the early introduction of sex education in public schools and the easy ac...

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... lost child a family?

Works Cited

Brodzinsky, Dr. David M., and Marshall d. Schechter. The Psychology of Adoption. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

Feigelman, William, and Arnold R. Silverman. Chosen Children. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1983.

Fulton, Kaye E., and Sharon Doyle Driedger, and Rae Corelli. "Bringing home Baby." Maclean's 21 August 1995 34-39.

"Give me your squalling masses: Coming to America." The Economist 3 Feb. 1996: 22-23.

Hibbs, Dr. Euthymia D. Adoption International Perspectives. Madison Intemational Univ. Press, 1991.

Jeffreys, Darya P. "Intercountry adoption: a need for mandatory medical screening." Journal of Law and Health Spring-Summer 1996: 243-270.

Kleiman, Erika Lynn. "Caring for our own why: American adoption law must change." Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems Winter 1997: 30.

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