Why compare adoption to baby stealing?

Question

or child trafficking, kidnapping?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=An6Kp1aPqRI3Xw3TnntbqSlq.Bd.;_ylv=3?qid=20080720044247AAQa8gK

Answer 1

Sometimes (NOT in MOST cases) it is not a comparison - it is the TRUTH!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080720/ap_o...

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/200...

Answer 2

The history of adoption shows how kidnapping has played a role in both domestic and foreign adoptions.  Is every child stolen?  No.  But that certainly doesn't erase the fact of those who were and still are.  

The most famous domestic baby thief was Georgia Tann of the Tennessee Children's Home Society.  She managed to make quite a business out of kidnapping and selling children, making it look passable on paper, and pushing for the sealing of adoption records to hide the rest.  Others have done similar on much smaller scales.  I do know a few people whose adoptions were completely illegal.

Guatemalan adoptions have halted because of strong suspicions of kidnapping to sell children to U.S. families.  Those suspicions are now turning into realities.

Kidnapping for the purpose of making money via adoptions was happening then:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Tan...

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Thief-Georgia...

...and it's still happening now:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25821096/

Answer 3

From my own experience, coercion and fraud come into play a lot, especially in infant adoption. I think when you use unlawful or unethical practices to get a baby, it is tantamount to kidnapping, or baby stealing. Even not giving the first parent all the information on psychological damage that may occur, both to the first parent and the adoptee, is wrong, imo.

Let's not forget all the fathers whose rights were ripped away from them. Ones who never even consented to the adoption of their child. Taking someones child without permission IS kidnapping.

Answer 4

Because it happens. Some children are actually stolen, in order to be put up for adoption by greedy people sho do not care about the child, the parents or the adoptive parents. Their only concern is the money. Sad but true.

Answer 5

There are some adoptions that occur due to infant abductions, coersion or other illegal and unethical methods.  This does need to be acknowledged, addressed and offenders punished.  

But I don't believe this describes the majority of adoptions, not by a longshot and I do resent the implication that ALL adoptions (particularly ALL international adoptions) must be due to child trafficking.  

Legal and ethical adoptions far outnumber the illegal and unethical ones.  This should be acknowledged as well.

Answer 6

what are you talking about?

Answer 7

“DNA tests confirm first stolen Guatemalan baby : Country's trouble adoption system suspected of stealing infants for profit” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25821096/

“U.S. alleges baby-selling rackets in Vietnam: Embassy report says lax policing lets adoption fraud flourish”

70,000 children are kidnapped each year in China and sold by organized crime.

I would say that baby stealing is very prevalent in the world, especially since adoptions go unregulated and are a HUGE business (100 million a year in Guat).

There is more subtle coercion, though, of n-parents than outright kindapping and selling on the black market.

Answer 8

we need a little more info in order to help you on this q

Answer 9

What amazes me the most is the lack of empathy of the sides of the agency, govt and especially AP's that even 1 child was kidnapped and sold to a US/Canadian citizen.

Look at the the publicity and outraged by our country for 1 missing US teenager,  Natalee Holloway.

I guess because these children aren't out partying and doing drugs as well as not being a white christian from the US that its not as important and their life is worth less.

To answer you question,why.....because in thousands of cases it really is.  In many of the "legal" although unethical cases it is. Telling a mother because she's struggling financially because their isn't any work to be had, that you will take her child and give an attorney $20-70,000 is baby buying. People just delude themselves and sugar coat reality to able live with the guilt.  

How do you explain to a adoptee that you cared less about their mother and her situation so instead of giving her $25 a month so she could raise you, I gave an agency and an attorney thousands of dollars to make it legal for me to get a hold of you. How do you tell an adoptee that I needed a void filled  so I paid someone to guilt/coax and take advantage of your mother so she was forced into relinquishing you.  I personally don't see much love in that.

Answer 10

a minute researching on-line about the history of adoption, should help to answer your question!

Answer 11

Jennifer L: Looking at this from a neutral standpoint, I'm not so certain about that statement.

Guatemala's adoption system shut down a while now (it could be back up again, I don't know) because there were way too many reports of young women being forced to become pregnant for the sake of handing over babies to people and keeping the adoption industry going up in profit.

Also, there was a documentary about the case of "China's Stolen Children" that aired a week ago, I believe.

I'm still hesitant to believe about the majority of adoptions being "ethical."

Answer 12

urm need more detailz

Answer 13

because the illigitamate (however you spell it) adoption agencies are actually stealing babies from families

Answer 14

Ever hear of a little country called Guatemala?

For a time it was the number one exporter of children to desparate American AP's.

But lately, you hear daily new stories of the corruption, the baby stealing, the bribing and paying off mothers, just to supply this voracious demand.

Do a little research...Guatemala isn't the only country this happens in.

Answer 15

Well I am a little confused as to whether you mean to compare legal adoptions to the actual stealing of a child or whether you think adoption is a form of child stealing so I will just try to give you my answer to my own adoption experiences.First,I relinquished my oldest daughter when she was born and nobody stole her from me,I just thought,at the time,that it was the best for her.Second,I was adopted when I was a baby and have only recently discovered that I was literally stolen from my mother as she was told that I was stillborn and quite obviously that was a lie as I am trying to answer your question.Some forms of adoptions from years ago might have involved the stealing of children but they are definitely only a few of the cases

Answer 16

I think people compare it to baby stealing because baby stealing does happen.

Since ulitimately APs are providing the money that makes corruption worthwhile, they have a responsibility to make sure that their adoptions are ethical.  You can't just take someone's word for it.

With my most recent adoption I adopted older children who could tell me their story for themselves. I was able to meet their father too. I told my agency going into it that if I found out that there was something inappropriate going on, I would make it all very public and be sure their name was out there.  I chose the agency where the social worker didn't flinch when I said that.

With my first adoption, I was referred a toddler. Since he couldn't tell me his story, I hired a searcher to find his mom. We confirmed it with dna testing. She not only assured us the adoption was ok, she's tried to get us to adopt more of her children, (we're sending support money instead). So I don't believe that all children are stolen.

Most of the IA parents I know have adopted older children, and are very concerned about ethics.  However, I've met far too many people just starting down the road to IA who only ask "How long did it take? Could you have gotten a baby girl? Could you have gotten a healthy one?"  They honestly don't think farther than "poor country, must be lots of orphans".  So while it's discouraging to come on here and always read that I stole my children (and I'm unpatriotic), for some people they need to see it in black and white that way in order to make them really think about it.

We adoptive parents are holding the dollars, if we demand ethical adoptions and show that we mean business, I think we could help curb the corruption.