Guatemala to more closely regulate adoptions...thoughts?

Question

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21901865/

Here is the link that i was reading online on msnbc.com

I just want to peoples thoughts on this. I'm not trying to offend anyone. I just came across it and i peaked my interest and i thought others would be interested.

Answer 1

From the stories that I have heard (from personal experiences), there truly needs to be a major overhaul with the way Guatemala handles adoptions.  Someone needs to insure that all parties are being protected - moreso than has occurred previously in Guatemala.

However, another challenge that currently faces the country is that there are over 5000 children who are waiting to be adopted in Guatemala and many of them have been matched with adoptive parents already.  When Guatemala decided to more closely regulate adoptions, they stopped everything rather than improve the process.  By doing so, they put all pending adoptions on hold.  All of these parents who had been given info about their child - names, pictures, some even visiting their child in Guatemala, etc., were all told that there would be no guarantee when and if there child would ever be able to come home.  I saw the heartbreak this created for very good friends of ours who are currently adopting their 2nd child from Guatemala.  Fortunately, the government is trying to work with the pending adoptions so that the children can come home.  Our friends just made their travel plans and will be bringing their daughter home in a week!  But there are many other parents still waiting.

Answer 2

Unfortunately this is not a solution.. this is a band-aid. I have seen the results of international adoption reform and yes it does prevent wealthy people from thinking they can buy children but in reality it does nothing to keep these children with their families. The results are the mothers still not keeping these children and with new adoption laws making it more difficult and longer you have Orphanages filling up faster than funding for them can be procured. If international adoption reform is something that bothers you than you need to go back further than the adoption laws and into the homes of the familes that are not keeping these children.. making adoption harder and longer does not solve the problem it only creates a whole new set of them

Answer 3

Well something has to be done to put a spanner in the works of that baby factory

Supply and demand again.  There will always be abuses when there is so much demand for children from richer nations taking advantage of underprivileged people

Answer 4

Yes.  More regulation.  Absolutely.

Answer 5

There absolutely needs to be more regulation in Guatemala in order to protect everyone, including the children.

If you will email me through my profile I have a link I'd like to share with you that fully explains why I think a complete restructuring of the system there is necessary.

Answer 6

Well, I have read a bit about Guatemalan adoptions and I agree that there certainly needs to be MUCH more regulation. I wish, however, they could keep the foster family rather than the orphanage situations. Orphanages, while easier to regulate, simply aren't as good for the children. In China, for example, come "potty time" in some orphanages all the children are tied to potty chairs for a long period of time in the hopes that there will be less mess to clean up. Also, there is less one on one attention and especially for infants this is crucial for brain development. I guess the best solution would be to increase the income level of Guatemala, but I don't see that happening any time soon.