Abstract
Over the past few decades, America has fostered many international children in its orphan homes. Many children come from foreign countries in Africa and Europe and are transmitted into the country through illegal means and become victims of human trafficking. Parents who wish to adopt foreign children have to go through a process of complex rules and uncertain situations after adoption; ethical, political, and cultural problems arise regarding the adoption of foreign children for U.S. parents who wish to complete their family with adoption. Parents must follow ethical standards and do research well before adopting foreign children.
Introduction
Over the course of the last ten years, over 15000 children were adopted in the United States internationally each year; the dilemma of human child trafficking and deregulation persists. The corruption in the adoption of international children is a serious problem for society; that is why some countries have banned the adoption of foreign children to avoid this situation. Moreover, a large number of children live under foster care in the United States, and a lot of people want the United States to ban the foreign adoption of children as well from neighboring countries. Americans do not like to talk about the issue of racism, the practice of foreign adoption also makes people uncomfortable to talk about.
After all, it was standard practice through much of the 20th century that adoptive parents hid the fact from their children. Is international adoption an ethical business? It is becoming a business for the people in the United States including many other countries on different continents, but the question arises how ethical this whole process is? Are people helping the young boys and girls or not doing much to help them in the name of adoption? How many people take the services of professional lawyers to facilitate the legal and ethical process of foreign adoption? Many people in the United States decide to adopt children who are brought to America through legal and illegal ways; adoption seems to be the only solution for parents who want to complete their family. Many of them make contacts with the agencies that provide foreign children for adoption. Once they can motivate the child and the authorities, they can bring the child home and forget about having no biological child.
The Foreign Adoption Costs
In countries like the United States, it is common for people to incorporate children of relatives into their homes as well. According to the United States Department of State, Almost 19% of all children adopted from abroad and taken to the U.S. come from Ethiopia. It costs up to $25,000 to adopt a child to take abroad. In contrast, Mr. Matthews says he paid roughly $300 for his in-country adoption. Also, the court sometimes wants the processing fee; the governments of weak countries like Ethiopia see a way out to get rid of their population of orphans in this way through international adoption.
Controversial Practice
According to the legal definition of the United Nations, an orphan child has one or more dead parents. It becomes an amazing moment for those children to get a new home and family to take care of them. Foreign adoption is rather a controversial practice; while there exist many good parents who want to adopt children from foreign countries, the political, cultural, religious, and racial problems still exist related to this practice which makes it pretty controversial to deal with. In fact, it is a practice of aggression to take a child into adoption from another culture who does not know anything about American culture. The African children are a great example who are unfamiliar with American culture and way of life.
By practice, adoption is not a negative thing; it is a healthy practice to provide love and shelter to homeless children living in foster homes. However, the adoption business has become too lucrative where the business people do not put the interests of these poor children first; they see them as secondary to their interests.
There is a huge need for monitoring the foreign adoptions in the United States, most of the children suffer due to injustice and practice of child labor. Many children become legal adults after adoption but still cannot feel at home with their new culture and family. Some parents, however, describe that adoption had become the most wonderful experience of their lives. They love their children beyond their wildest dreams and make sense of foreign adoption.
How To Ensure Adoption is Ethical?
Deciding to adopt a child internationally is a tough one because the family has no idea of ethical considerations regarding this practice. Choosing a child and a country where he or she belongs is a difficult process. Firstly, the parents must choose a country that adheres to the conventional standards of the international child adoption process. A child in a poor country is often ignored by the governments and agencies to fulfill the standards of adoption and caring. The second most important thing to consider while adopting an international child is choosing an agency carefully. It is always better for the parents to choose a transparent company to know about the details of fees, the child adoption process, and deadlines.,
Most families do not care about asking about the child’s history; they suffer in the end due to problems in their family history and medical issues. It becomes hard to live with a child later on who has medical problems and psychological illnesses not known at the time of adoption. Children who are victims of poverty often do not possess good health; they come from dissolved families who do not like the new country or parents. Doing the appropriate research before adopting a foreign child is a wise choice.
The parents must read everything about the country or place where their new adopted child is coming from. It is beneficial for the future of children and parents to learn the history and legitimate adoption process to avoid child trafficking. There exist many nuances and difficulties in international adoption, the black and white children are not the same from the foreign countries. Therefore, it is always good to talk to other parents with adoption experience to get proper guidance. families who can create a bond with their children are the ones who carefully choose an agency and do their research properly
Child Trafficking
Many children under 19 are sent to the United States and foreign countries for the sake of education but find themselves victims of the child trafficking industry. These children are illegally kidnapped and never allowed to become independent upon their arrival. Legal and ethical problems related to this issue widely as international adoption is becoming more difficult these days due to the issue of child trafficking.
Conclusion
It is always a good practice to adopt an international child who is a victim of hunger and poverty. Still, a desire to adopt foreign children from international nations is an equally more complex and unethical process when it comes to the negligence of adoption agencies and the unawareness of parents who adopt them. Most poor families in African countries are deceived into giving their children for adoption to provide them with a better life. Still, they, unfortunately, become a victim of child trafficking criminals who sell them for their profits without caring for their future or needs.
The families who desire to adopt an international legal child must be very careful about doing their research to complete this process. Most parents are not able to form a bond with international children due to a different culture and social issues; they only get disappointed to find out that their newly adopted son or daughter was stolen from their original parents. More emphasis is given by UNICEF to keep the children in their home country to avoid child trafficking. For many families, international adoption becomes a false choice.
References
5 Ways To Ensure Your International Adoption Is Ethical. (2018). Adoption.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from https://adoption.com/5-ways-to-ensure-your-international-adoption-is-ethical
Bascom, B., & McKelvey, C. (1997). The complete guide to foreign adoption. New York: Pocket Books.
Cite a Website – Cite This For Me. (2018). Msass.case.edu. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from http://msass.case.edu/downloads/vgroza/fall2004/ethicalissues.pdf
Eliot, G. (2016). The mill on the Floss. New York: Open Road Integrated Media.
Kevin Voigt, C. (2018). International adoption: Saving orphans or child trafficking?. CNN. Retrieved 10 February 2018, from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/16/world/international-adoption-saving-orphans-child-trafficking/index.html
