Why is it that whenever there is an article about a birthparent and adoptee reuniting, the old stereotypes surface? That's what I was thinking when I read this article in USA Today.

I was reading a story USA Today wrote about the decline in international adoptions, when I clicked on the story about an Air Force Colonel Bruce Hollywood, who found his birth mom in Japan.

Here's the quote from Japan's ambassador to the U.S. (who helped in the search):

"Col. Hollywood has found his real mother," Kato said.

Did Col. Hollywood feel this way about his adoptive mom? Probably not, as he didn't feel the desire to search until he became ill, deep into middle age. But without a quote from the adoptee about whether he, in fact, considers the birth mom his "real" mom, the story lets this quote have the last word.

Labels: international adoption

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When I saw the headline, "To Catch a Baby Broker," I felt that familiar knot in my stomach, the one I get whenever I am about to watch or read news about international adoption.
NBC's Dateline aired an investigation into corruption in Guatemala adoptions. I missed the show, but read the transcript on MSNBC.com. (Or watch snippets here.)
This is how Dateline billed their story:

Some children offered for international adoption are exploited, even kidnapped--forcing families into a desperate battle to save them.

Well, the producers document that sleazy operators are still doing business, and that international adoption in Guatemala is rife with corruption that leads to heartbreaking scenarios, including kidnappings.
It is precisely these stories that led Guatemala to shut down its international adoption program as of January 1.
Let's hope that the reforms being instituted will result in ethical adoptions--not simply no adoptions. I worry that in all this negative publicity, governments and experts lose track of the many kids who will benefit and have already benefitted from international adoption. And then what we end up with is Romania, where international adoptions have been banned since June 2001 while it supposedly was cleaning up its system.

Labels: international adoption

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