Guatemalan adoption- what do you think of this?

Question

The government of Guatemala recently enacted a series of new laws intended to curb corruption within the country's $100 million adoption industry. Guatemala is one of the world's top "sender" countries for children adopted by US families, second only to China. Babies are big business there.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/26/adoption-and-corrupt.html

Answer 1

That's very sad.  Babies shouldn't be big business ANYWHERE.

To Gershom:  1 in 100?  That is horrible!  It's unbelievably horrible!  Adoption is not the best thing for any child from any country if it's done for profit.  That is an amazing statistic.  I wonder how many Americans realize that?  I know I sure didn't.

Answer 2

I didnt read the artical but isnt guatamala closed to any new US adoptions right now? That is one of the reasons Im not looking into the country to adopt. It really sad and BOTH the US AP and the Guatamalan familys and children are victems here and many AP are mislead and given/promised babies that arnt surruended for adoption under proper conditions. i know people who were scamed out of thousands of dollars are being placed with an older child flying to vist him multiple times and then "things falling though" So all around I think they need to clean up their act for EVERYONE invloved...

Answer 3

This is so crazy to me. I did a research paper on Guatemala for my Spanish class (third year student) and it said that the native people are scared that Americans will steal their children. It said not to even go near the children on some travel information I found on line. I think its sad that people want babies bad enough to take them from their mom.

Answer 4

I'm not completely familiar with the process in Guatemala, but it is one of (if not the) most expensive program, requiring two DNA tests to verify that it is the child's biological mother that is relinquishing her child.  Children are also placed into foster care, not an orphanage, while the adoption process takes place.

The program is currently closed (not sure if it's from the US side or the Guatemala side) while the process is being overhauled.  

Corruption can happen in international adoption and nobody understands that like parents who navigated those waters.  But it sounds like the authorities are taking steps to correct the problem.

I read the article.  Seemed pretty slanted to me, I mean leaving out the part that DNA tests are REQUIRED for US adoptions is a pretty big omission.  But with a site called "boingboing.net" it's not like we're looking at top notch journalism.  And according to the comments, it looks like they posted a picture of a child without the consent of that child's parents.

Answer 5

1 in 100 Guatemalan born children will be adopted into the United States. It IS a big business and it makes me very sad for them. The AP's are getting played if they believe that adoption is the best thing for the Guatemalan children in my opinion.

I personally don't find the few DNA process steps to be very "authentic" i mean, clearly its easily passable and isn't foolproof. More than half of the mothers in Guatemala can't even read. How do you surrender your children to adoption IF YOU CAN'T READ THE PAPERS? Some women are trafficked for their children and forced to meet the DNA requirements. Some womens DNA didn't match up to their names either. There is WAY to much shady practice going on in Guatemala and i don't think ANY adoptions should be happening AT ALL from there. period.

Answer 6

I've read this, to.  The things not mentioned here are that the paperwork that the agency accepted was from the natural parents.  THE natural parents felt as though THEY had to lie in order to make an adoption plan for thier children.  Why would I think this?  Because most of those children's adoption plans were completed- looked into, researched by the authorities and allowed to move forward- completing the adoptions.  They wouldn't complete the adoptions if they found anything illegal about the case.  As for the other natural parents who remained unidentifiable- Why haven't they come back to claim their children?  It's pretty sad that the natural mothers have to lie to avoid being ridiculed or beat up by their boyfriends, husbands, rapists, etc.

"The probe of Casa Quivira — where 46 children in the process of being adopted by U.S. families were seized in a government raid last August — turned up a slew of irregularities, including at least five cases in which birth mothers were allegedly given false identities to avoid having to seek permission from family members and a judge to give up their babies.  Eighteen other mothers could not be found under the identities that case files provided, prosecutors said."

I know there are many "stolen baby" stories, especially in Guatemala.  It's very sad.  I hope that Guatemala gets their new laws straight to end the corruption.  I just hope they're focusing on the right things.