For adoptive parents, would you want to know whether or not your child was part of a black market baby ring?

Question

As adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents, you are part of the "market" for adoption. You help drive the industry. With what is happening in Guatemala and in other countries, scamming occurs. I have known several adoptive parents online who have been ripped off by adoption agencies. Wouldn't this be part of adoption reform for you? How would you feel if you knew that your children were kidnapped? Or if your child's natural mother was being forced to reproduce for this type of market? What would you do if you found out that the natural mother wanted to raise her child but was forced to put her child up for adoption? What changes are you willing to do to make this change occur?

Answer 1

I don't know about other countries, in Australia however, adoption occurs via government agancies through strict guidelines.

I've seen those dodgey sites though - buying a child for $30 grand or so  - but desperation for a child doesn't make me blind to the exploitation of others nor illegal adoption.

Answer 2

Considering we did a private adoptin, so the whole waiting and looking for a baby thing didn't apply to us, but if it had I would deffinately like to know. Not knowing how the expectant mother was treated is why we didn't search for a baby, but were just open to adopt, should it be needed. (never thought it would actually happen).

Answer 3

Yes, I would absolutely want to know.

This is one reason why open adoptions are SO important.  Knowing the mother of your child, and knowing that she was NOT coerced, that the child you are raising is really the baby she gave birth to, rather than a child ripped from the arms of a grieving, frightened mother who has no Idea what happened to her baby.

Answer 4

Oh yes, I would want to know. It would break my heart, but I would want to know, and to try somehow to co-parent my daughter with her natural parents.

This was why I did not even consider Guatemala. Even the "normal" Guatemalan cases where the mother was relinquishing her child to have money to raise her other kids just seemed awful to me -- why not just give her money and let her keep her kid?

And some kidnapping or at least unethical baby procuring has happened in China also, where we adopted. This was not known (at least not outside of China) when we adopted. If my child had been involved in this, I would want to know and to reunite my daughter with her natural parents. At this point, though (she's been with us from 14 months to almost 4 year now), it would be too hard on our daughter to lose us -- the only parents she remembers. So, I think the best solution in a case like this would be some type of co-parenting. Maybe we could live in China for awhile, or part of the year. (I am almost certain the US government would not allow her natural parents to do more than visit here. I know some Korean Adult Adoptees are working to get first family members defined as family for immigration purposes, and I think that is quite just, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.)  It would be awfully hard to make an arrangement like this work out, but it would be the only ethical and loving thing to do.

Answer 5

I feel that adopting from third world countries is a gamble as you do not know if they are legit so I think that the only way to make sure this does not happen is to adopt within the US we have many children in the foster care system some should not be there and should be with their parents or nearest relatives but for others  that are going from home to home not being part of a true family when there is so many people going out of the country and paying thousands of dollars to adopt kids... come-on they are right there and if you are looking for the opportunity to raise a child as your own then why not go to a local adopting agency and give a child a home a child that you know is not kidnapped or stolen from his/her birth parents although I know that children from other countries that were given up for adoption because their birth parents could not take care of them also deserve a chance to have a family so this is a tough subject because every child deserves a home and we all know that some will never have that!!

Answer 6

Thats hectic. I would obviously try to search for the biological mom and resolve the issue. I want to adopt and now this is depressing.