Thursday, October 4, 2007

Guatemala Suspends US Adoptions after 1/1/08

Well, it was bound to happen at some point, and the news started yesterday and is rushing in today - Guatemala will suspend all adoptions to the US starting 1/1/08. This will leave thousands of children who are "in process" of being adopted in a legal limbo, and their parents in worse shape - trying to ascertain if the child that they having been waiting for has the right paperwork to prove that they were relinquished within the legal guidelines and boundaries.

You can see the CNN video here, or read the article here...

Guatemala is one of the only countries where birth parents receive renumeration (read money) for relinquishing a child for adoption. Lawyers are the first line, and they recruit children through birth parents in local papers. Often these kiddos are truely in a situation where the parents can't care for them and the BP's want a better life for them - and they are relinquished. But in some cases there is a strong case for the fact that either the BP's have been paid to relinquish their child, or even worse, bullied into relinquishment.

Adoption can be a fantastic thing for children who need homes, and for parents who want to provide homes. But we cannot forget that a birth parent has the right to parent their child, even if they live in poverty, don't drive fancy cars, etc. While Guatemala does this shut down, I think it needs to refocus and remember that the American adoptive parents (AP's) are not at fault. If Guatemala was serious about reform they would look to countries like China, where there is a spotless reputation - and work to emulate them. No money for relinquishment of birth children by birth parents. Continue streamlined process to place children quickly into adoptive homes. Remove the lawyers from the process, and set up orphanages to manage and house the children as they wait for adoption.

It's going to be a long road for Guatemala. Now we just have to wait and see what the next steps this government will take to quickly review the legal status of the thousands of "in process" children, so that they can be reunited with birth parents, or united with their adoptive parents. Unfortunately, this legal limbo does the child no good.

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