Danielle Lamoreaux

Mr. Macleod
4th hour Honors English
2/2/17

International Adoption

International adoption is a topic being discussed among many people on whether it

should be banned or not. There are many ways to look at this topic as it is being argued. Are

you adopting for the child’s sake or only for you and your family? While considering

international adoption there are many things you really need to look into such as the cost of

the child’s health care and wait times to get the child. All these things can be very negative

depending on how it all turns out. On the other hand, you will be giving a child a second chance

at life and showing a child there are people out there that will accept you and will love you.

Another question frequently being brought up is why to adopt internationally when there are

children in America that need families and the process is way easier. Overall, while doing my

research I am siding with the fact that international adoption should not be banned.

Health risks are a big concern when adopting internationally. It is often difficult to know

the child’s complete medical history. Specific health issues for children adopted internationally

are malnutrition, congenital defects, developmental delays and intestinal parasites. Medical

issues may even go unrecognized until the child is placed in the American home. You may not

even be told that your child has a disease or medical condition that is very serious or life

threatening. There are times when families get very close to the last step of adoption only to
get the news that their child has health issues and can no longer be adopted. The child’s health

is something major to consider when adopting especially if you are not prepared for medical

issues. However, being adopted allows children from other countries to receive quality

medical care that they would not receive in their own country. Orphanages in other countries

are unable to provide the proper and necessary treatment for these children. Janeen

Interlandi, who was actually adopted internationally, along with her brother were both born

premature. Janeen says, “They nursed us back to health, brought us to a working–class suburb

of New Jersey and promptly went about the business of raising us.” With this being said, the

two children basically got a second chance to live a healthy life because of their parents that

had adopted them.

I understand that there are many kids in America that need to be adopted but when

comparing a child’s life overseas to a child living in America, they are very different. Usually

children are placed for international adoption because of abandonment, poverty, illness or

death of parents. Many are living in orphanages with little attention and love. In America, a

child would actually have a shelter to go to and food would be provided with a place to sleep.

In places like Africa, the children have no where they can stay. When their parents abandon

them, they are on their own trying to get the resources they need to survive. This can be very

difficult depending on how old the child is. If you look at pictures and maybe if you even visit

another country you will start to notice how many children live on the streets alone or with

their siblings. International adoption is able to change all of that. If we ban international

adoption, those children will never get a second chance to live the life they deserve.
 Another option other than international adoption and domestic adoption is foster care.

Most families do that because it is free and the process is a whole lot easier than adoption

which can take years to receive a child. Foster care is a lot like adoption but the child is

temporarily placed in your home and often leaves after a certain age. With adoption, the child

is a permanent part of your family and to the child there is something special about that

feeling. An orphan may go from living on the streets with no food, shelter and no one to love

them to a completely different life when they are adopted internationally. When they come to

America, they have a house, food and a family to love them. Daniel, president of Nightlight, an

adoption organization talked about how he adopted two of his kids and there is nothing like

being able to call them a part of his family. It’s the best feeling in the world. It’s truly the

meaning of life giving your adopted child the love they need that they didn’t get in their other

country.

The wait time when adopting internationally varies depending on the country you are

adopting from and the process that is used. The average time it takes to adopt from another

country is 1-5 years. There are many government restrictions, laws and paperwork that make it

difficult to bring the child home to America. For example, most U.S. adoptions are from China

with a wait period of more than four years. In Russia the wait time is less than a year. Larry

and Lynne Loveless waited more than eight years to bring their daughter Joy to America

because the Vietnam adoption program closed. If you truly love the child and want to adopt,

time will mean nothing in this circumstance. However, if you are impatient and can’t wait to

have the child then international adoption may not be the best choice. It can be difficult

knowing your child is waiting for you in another country but you can’t bring them home. There
is never a guarantee of when you will get the child but if it was you really want then it will be

worth the wait.

People are sometimes reluctant to adopt because of the possible involvement or

contact with the child’s biological parents. Domestic adoption allows for varied levels of

involvement from the biological parents. Sometimes the adoption is considered an open

adoption which allows for contact between the biological parents and child prior to the child’s

birth and throughout their lives. For some adopting parents there is the fear that the birth

mother may change her mind and try to get the child back. Although this is an unrealistic fear

when the biological parent’s rights are terminated, it is still a concern for some. This is not the

case with international adoption since many of the children are older and often living in

orphanages. When adopting internationally there is typically no contact with the birth parents

prior to or after the adoption process. There is not the same risk of parents trying to contact

their child in later years.

Personal stories tell of the positive aspects of international adoption. A family friend,

Carrie Dul, along with her husband initially adopted 3 siblings from Poland when they were

unable to have children. The children were living in an orphanage and because they were older

there was little hope of being adopted in their own country. It took them a total of 16 months

to actually bring the children to America. According to Carrie, “a perceived advantage of

international adoption was a clean break from their past and their birth parents. I felt the

separation made it easier to start a new life and was less confusing.” In addition, Carrie chose

to adopt from Poland due to her own Polish background. It allowed her children to continue to

experience their culture in their American home. Carrie also said, “We were lucky because we
worked with an excellent orphanage and truthful information was provided about our children

but there are many stories of very inaccurate information and covering up of serious medical,

mental and developmental problems.” In fact, their positive international adoption experience

allowed them to return to Poland 2 years after adopting her first three children to bring home

another sibling that was recently placed in the orphanage as a toddler. Her family is complete

and thriving in America. Her children are now given love and opportunities they would never

have had because of international adoption.

Although international adoption is declining it should still remain an option for parents

wanting to adopt. There are many pros and cons to adopting a child overseas. Medical issues,

wait times, and biological parent contact are some of the important factors to consider.

Overall, international adoption allows children from around the world to have a life that would

not have been possible if they remained in their country. A majority of these children live in

orphanages with little medical care and love. Although the wait time may be longer to adopt a

child from another country, for many parents it is worth the wait.
 Annotative bib

Daniel president of nightlight.Why adopt from another country when there are so

many kids in America.January 28,2016. https://www.nightlight.org/2016/01/why-

adopt-from-another-country-when-there-are-so-many-kids-here/.January 31,

2017.

Jeneen Interlandi. The news week. March 1,2010. http://www.newsweek.com/benefits-

international-adoption-69311. January 31,2017.

Lee Helland.Level of involvement for birth parents.May 14,2013.

http://www.parents.com/parenting/adoption/parenting/level-of-involvement-for-

birth-parents/. January 31,2017.

Sonia Billadeau.Medical issues in internationally adopted children.April 14,

2014. https://adoption.com/medical-issues-in-internationally-adopted-children.

Febuary 2, 2017.