Adoption
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Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. Adoption results in the severing of the parental responsibilities and rights of the biological parents and the placing of those responsibilities and rights onto the adoptive parents. After the finalization of an adoption, there is no legal difference between biological and adopted children.
Different jurisdictions have varying laws on adoption and post-adoption. Some practice confidential or closed adoption, preventing further contact between the adopted person and the biological parents, while others have varying degrees of open adoption, which may allow such contact.
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Reasons for adoption
Many children are placed for adoption as a result of the biological parents' decision that they are unable to adequately care for a child. In some countries, where single motherhood may be considered scandalous and unacceptable, some women in this situation make an adoption plan for their infants. In some cases, they abandon their children at or near an orphanage, so that they can be adopted.
Some biological parents involuntarily lose their parental rights (called termination of parental rights or TPR in the United States). This usually occurs when the children are placed in foster care because they were abused, neglected or abandoned. After about 15 months, if the parents cannot resolve the problems that caused or contributed to the harm caused to their children (such as alcohol or drug abuse), a court may terminate their parental rights and the children may then be adopted.
In fiscal year 2001, 50,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents. The enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act in 1997 has approximately doubled the number of children adopted from foster care in the United States.
Only a small percentage of adopted children are those orphaned because of the death of their biological parents.
In some cases, parents' rights have been terminated when their outgroup culture << can someone explain waht this is? >> has been deemed unfit by the controlling government. Aboriginal Peoples in Australia were affected by such policies, as were Native Americans in the United States and Canada. Moreover, unwed mothers in many countries still are often pressured or forced by families, religious bodies or governments into relinquishing their children for adoption. These practices of the past have become emotionally-charged social and political issues in recent years.
People make decisions to adopt for various reasons; however, the inability to produce a biological child is the most common reason. The most prevalent obstacle to producing a biological child is infertility. Another obstacle is the lack of a partner of the opposite sex or a lack of desire to use a surrogate or sperm donor. Gay and single people often adopt for this reason.
Some couples or individuals adopt children even though they are fertile. Some may choose to do this in order to avoid contributing to a perceived overpopulation problem; others may do so to avoid passing on undesirable genetic traits. Still others adopt because they wish to share their love and open their homes to more children.
Adoption agencies
Adoption agencies can range from government-funded agencies that place children at little cost, to lawyers who arrange private adoptions, to international commercial and non-profit agencies. Adoptive parents can pay from nothing to US$40,000 for an adoption. Infants are more commonly sought than toddlers or older children, and many adoptive parents seek to adopt children of the same race. However, individuals adopting children from other countries, such as in Eastern Europe, should be aware that these countries consist of many ethnic groups.
International adoption is becoming more popular with more young healthy children available than in most adoptive countries. China is the leading country for American international adoptions.
Another reason international adoption has become popular with U.S. citizens is the American adopting parents are fearful of American birth parents changing their mind about adoption. In addition, many U.S. adoption agencies encourage open adoptions, in which some adoptive parents do not wish to participate. Few international adoptions are open adoptions.
One problem with international adoptions is that unethical people see an opportunity to make a relatively high profit, in part because the costs of living are much lower than the adoptive parents' country. There are no firm numbers on illegal or unethical adoptions, as adoptive families are reluctant to publicize unethical adoptions, but several countries have closed following high profile trafficking and corruption cases, such as Romania and Cambodia.
Issues surrounding adoption
The number of children available for adoption inside Western nations have dropped considerably in recent years, partly because of the legalization of abortions, partly because of the increased acceptance of single parenthood. When a mother (or both parents) chooses to place the child with adoptive parents, the process of separation is difficult for all parties.
It has been argued that children adopted through international adoptions are best served when adoptive families commit to integrating the child's birth nation cultures, traditions, stories, languages and relationships. Some countries now require adoptive parents to keep the birth names of their adoptive children, and many adoptive parents choose to do this as it makes sense in helping their child develop a strong sense of self.
Another issue for prospective adoptive parents to be cognizant of is reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Many children, especially those beyond infancy in system care (e.g. foster, orphanage), domestic or foreign, develop this disorder due to the loss of the initial primary caregiver. A search on the internet for 'reactive attachment disorder' will expose much information and journals from parents dealing with RAD. The Attachment Center (http://www.FamilyAttachmentCenter.org[Family) is an excellent resource.
Primal Wound
It's not until very recently, and in particular through the work of Nancy Verrier that various concepts relating to adoption have been put into question. Although adoptees make up only 2 to 3 percent of the population, statistics consistently indicate that 30 to 40 percent of those children found in special schools, juvenile hall and residential treatment centres are adopted.
It is often assumed that adopting babies at a very young age (1-2 months) bears no trauma for the child. In fact, many adoptees have reported they were made to feel - consciously or not - as if they should be forever 'be grateful' to have been 'chosen'. Because most have no recollection of their own birth, a baby would be a 'blank canvas' and the adoption process no different than being raised by the biological parents.
Nancy Verrier defines the primal would as the "devastation which the infant feels because of separation from its birth mother". It is the deep and consequential feeling of abandonment which the baby adoptee feels after the adoption and which continues for the rest of his life.
Reunification
Many adopted people and biological parents who were separated by adoption have a desire to reunite. In countries which practice confidential adoption, this desire has led to efforts to open sealed records (for example, see Adoption reunion registry) and efforts to establish the right of adoptees to access their sealed records (for example, see Bastard Nation).
Adoptism
Adoptism is a prejudice against adoption defined by several beliefs:
- The belief that adoption is not a legitimate way to build a family
- The belief that birthing children is always preferable to adopting
- The belief that adoptees are defined throughout their lives by the fact of their adoption
- The belief that making an adoption plan is never a preferable option for birth mothers who are unable or choose not to raise their children
Positive adoption language
In most cultures, adoptive families face adoptism. Adoptism is made evident in English speaking cultures by the prominent use of negative or inaccurate language describing adoption. To combat adoptism, many adoptive families encourage positive adoption language.
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Non-preferred: |
Preferred: |
Reason for preference: |
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your own child |
birth child |
Saying a birth child is your own child or one of your own children implies that an adopted child is not. |
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child is adopted |
child was adopted |
Some adoptees believe that their adoption is not their identity, but is an event that happened to them. ("Adopted" becomes a participle rather than an adjective.) Others contend that "is adopted" makes adoption sound like a disability to be overcome. |
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give up for adoption |
place for adoption or make an adoption plan |
"Give up" implies a lack of value. The preferred terms are more emotionally neutral. |
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real mother/father/parent |
birth mother/father/parent or |
The use of the term "real" implies that the adoptive family is artificial, and is not as descriptive. |
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birth mother/father/parent |
natural mother/father/parent |
A contrary view to the above, especially held by those in Ireland who cared for their children before being forced to relinquish them to adoption, is that the term 'birth' mother implies that they only served as a brood mare when in fact they often raised and cared for their children for up to two years.[1] (http://www.adoptionloss.ie/history.htm) |
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your adopted child |
your child |
The use of the adjective 'adopted' signals that the relationship is qualitatively different from that of parents to birth children. |
International Adoption
International adoption refers to adopting a child from a foreign country. American citizens represent the majority of international adoptive parents, followed by Europeans and those from other more developed nations. The laws of different countries vary in their willingness to allow international adoptions. Some countries, such as China and Vietnam, have relatively well-established rules and procedures for foreign adopters to follow, while others, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for example, expressly forbid it.
Adoption in other cultures
Adoption need not always entail assuming the title of "mother" and/or "father" to an orphaned child. Traditionally in Arab cultures if a child is adopted he or she does not become a “son” or “daughter,” but rather a ward of the adopting caretaker(s). The child’s family name is not changed to that of the adopting parent(s) and his or her “guardians” are publicly known as such.
In Korean culture, adoption almost always occurs when another family member (sibling or cousin) gives a male child to the first-born male heir of the family. Adoptions outside the family are rare. This is also true to varying degrees in other Asian societies.
See also
External links
United States
- State Child Welfare Agency and Photolisting Web Pages (http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/r_agency.cfm) (National Adoption Information Clearinghouse)
- State and Nationwide Adoption & Related Child Welfare Links (http://www.mare.org/Links.html) (Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange)
- Adoption Photolisting Websites (http://www.adopt.org/adoption_photolistings.html) (National Adoption Center)
Canada
- Adoption Links (http://www.adoption.ca/links.htm) (Adoption Council of Canada)bg:Осиновяване
da:Adoptere de:Adoption fr:Adoption he:אימוץ ילדים nl:Adoptie ja:養子縁組 pl:Adopcja sv:Adoption