Why do people adopt foreign children instead of adopting local children/orphans who need homes badly too?

Question

Shouldn't we make sure that our own country is healthy and no children suffer from poverty, before we start looking in other countries? What does that say to the children in the local country who have been waiting for a long time only to be put in second place by a child from a foreign country?

Answer 1

Domestic adoption agencies have so much red-tape that many people opt to adopt internationally instead. Countries like China make it so easy and quick to adopt children.

Answer 2

Because adopting a child from a foreign country is cheaper and easier.
Also, the children in the orphanages in those countries are in absolutely appalling conditions. Some children stay in the same crib for years. Literally, they never get out of them. They are nearly crippled.
It has nothing to do with Brad and Angie. People have been adopting children from foreign countries for many decades. When my children were in daycare, there were two brothers who had been adopted out of China. They would not have been adopted by a Chinese family. They were both albino. These boys had some other problems, their eyesight for one thing. Anyway, they now have a very good life, and their medical problems are being dealt with.

Answer 3

I don't have a good answer to your question but I completely agree with your point!
It drives me crazy...not that it isn't a wonderful thing to save orphaned children from dreadful lives in countries that have it much worse than us....but how does it make any sense that so many people work so hard and wait YEARS just to get a baby from some other country...and meanwhile, we have orphaned children in the US that are growing too old to ever get adopted!
I think you should go into a message board, chatroom, or Yahoo! group about adoption and see what those people say about the topic.

Answer 4

I have a friend who did this. From her experience, it is very hard to adopt in the U.S. if you want an infant. Even a lot of older children in foster care aren't adoptable because their parents still have some rights and it is the main goal to eventually reunite families. I agree with you but adopting an older child who has been in the system comes with a huge set of issues and if the people adopting don't have the time, patience, energy, or resources to put into a child like that than it's better they don't adopt one. I spent some time in foster care so I know a little about it and it's a rough life for a lot of kids. Unfortunately, a lot of people are just scared to take on a child that may have problems from prior life experiences.

Answer 5

Maybe it is easier to adopt foreign kids than it is to adopt here. A lot of foreign children do not have parents who could later change their minds about it, like US children do. And I honestly don't think it matters; to care for a human life has nothing to do with where that life comes from. Not everyone adopts outside the US....you just hear about it more often because of the famous people who are doing it now.

Answer 6

My sister adopted a child several years ago from Ukraine, she tried for 3 years to adopt a local child and could not get past the initial paperwork. The adoption was done overseas in just a few days with about 1/2 of the money needed here in the US. (including travel cost and bribe money for the Ukraine courts, yes, that's how they do it)

The child that she adopted was quite literally meant to be in our family, he even bears a striking resemblence to my sisters father-in-law.

The orphanages in Ukraine are horrid, they feed the children dandilion soup 3x a day. The facilities were in horrific condition, not fit for a human dwelling.

While I understand your point of view, and agree with it almost completely, there is another side to this. It is nearly impossible to adopt a child with all of the red tape and waiting that is involved in the good 'ole US of A.

Answer 7

People tend to look in other countries because their countries are already in poverty and these children are on the verge of dying in some places. America is lucky enough to have different organizations to help the children here even if there isn't enough homes for them to go to. The children here, (for the most part) are taken good care of.

Answer 8

we all live in the same world, why does it matter? children living in orphanages here live like kings compared to children in some other countries. atleast over here children can have adequate meals everyday and get the proper health care they need. there are children all over the world dying from illnesses that we have the power to cure with a few simple trips to the doctor. if someone wants to take a child out of a life of poverty and suffering they should have every right to do that.

Answer 9

Interesting question!
It is probably easier and cheaper. But then does it mean that they want cheap baby in the most convenient and easiest way? I guess most people just want a baby of their own and they do not consider adopting as a way to help society or local orphans.
It is probably also harder for the baby or that person to reunite with birth parents. However, with the new global technology and database, it may not make any difference.

Answer 10

Goodness, a child is a child. Doesn't matter about where they come from, they are still children. If you find something wrong with adopting foreign children, then go ahead and adopt a local one yourself,

Answer 11

Sometimes people are inspired where they should adopt their children from....my family adopted 3 beautiful children from Vietnam and I think that we made the wisest decision to see the children from a foreign country, where I honestly think that they have more hardships