Open or Closed Adoption: What is Your Choice?

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The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adoption defines adoption as the transfer of parental rights and obligations from one family to another. The adoptive parents assume all responsibilities of raising the child legally and financially, therefore severing all ties to the biological parents. The difference between a closed adoption and open adoption is when birthparents and the adoptive parents know nothing of each other. Records are usually sealed until the child becomes of age and chooses to open them. An open adoption is when the birthparents and the adoptive parents meet each other and come to a legal agreement concerning the exchange of pictures and letters and sometime visitation is allowed. This is where the conflict comes into play. Once the biological parent makes the decision to give their child up for adoption, there should be no further need of contact between biological parent and the child.

The open adoption movement began around the 1960’s. More and more adopted children wanted to know their genealogy. Because those records were sealed to secrecy getting information was next to impossible. In the article, Open Adoption: “What Does the Average Person” “Think” by Elizabeth Lewis Romfp, Adoptees state “that the knowledge of one’s biological history constitutes an innate human need.” “Denial of that need leads to emotional problems often related to identity formation. As adults, adoptees seldom find it possible to lead a normal life, starting families of their own without knowing who they really are. Yet other adoptees have little or no physiological problems and grow up to lead normal lives. This leads us back to the issue of openness and closed relationship with biological parents. Who’s to say that had those a...

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...tion: Implications for Adoption Agencies." Child Welfare 85.6 (2006): 1011-1039.

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. EBSCO. Web. 3 Nov. 2009.

McKelvey, Carole A., and Dr. JoEllen Stevens. Adoption Crisis: The Truth behind Adoption and Foster Care. Golden: Fulcrum, 1994. Print.

Rompf, Elizabeth Lewis "Open Adoption: What Does the "Average Person" Think?." Child Welfare 72.3 (1993): 219-230. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Collection. EBSCO. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. Siegel, Deborah H. "Open Adoption of Infants: Adoptive Parents' Perceptions of Advantages and Disadvantages. (cover story)." Social Work 38.1 (1993): 15-23. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. EBSCO. Web. 4 Nov. 2009.

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