Why are so many people going overseas to adopt if there are so many needy children in the U.S.?

Question

It almost seems like a weird fad. I was on an elevator and two women were comparing which village their Chinese daughters came from. The conversation is too long to recount but it almost sounded like they were one upping each other on how bad the child's village was, and what great human beings they are for saving those children. Are there people from other countries rushing to adopt American children? There are so many children here that need a home. I have one child, but my husband and I have always been open to adoption in the event we could not have children. There is no question about it: I would adopt an American child.

Answer 1

its because its a status symbol. by adopting from outside the country, parents can say, oh look what i've done, i've brought a poor little underprivileged child from a 3rd world country to America. Aren't i wonderful? its kind of sad really, with so many children already in trouble in our own country.

Answer 2

#1 BECAUSE here in the usa the birth mom has a long time in which she can still get her kid back like 6 months to a year to get her rights taken totally away. NOW overseas the mom lost her rights when she placed the child 4 adoption so there is no chance she can go to court later and demand her child back MANY adopted parents have adopted a usa baby just to lose it 2 months or more later that gets old and hard on your heart to fall in love care 4 a kid then BAM you'll never see it again. ANOTHER reason many people don't meet the usa requirments like a single mom or a gay couple overseas they don't check into who you are that well they don't care if your gay or single you got $$$$$$$ you got a baby. Your thoughts would change on the topic when you relise how long it takes in the usa and you get a baby then they take it back or you don't fit the par of what they find standard you don't make enough your house is not big enough you are not the right religion.

Answer 3

Often the parents want an infant...most children in US who still need adopted are older.

Further, many older children needing adopted come with 'issues,' usually brought on by the mom drinking or taking drugs during pregnancy.

Like it or not...most parents seeking to adopt are white in the US, and they want a white child. Most kids in the US still waiting for adoption are not white. (Just the way it is.)

So, for many...the decision is to look overseas.

Another known reason is that many people wishing to adopt choose China for example, and seek a girl. When a family has too many girls or kids, they are sometimes aborted or shunned. Also many families just cannot survive with the extra children and give them up for adoption. Compassion is a big reason for adoption.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

That's a really good question. And there's several reasons why people choose to adopt from overseas.

1) To adopt in the U.S., it's extremely strict. The couple has to be a certain age, have a certain income and credit history, have no major health issues, plus there's an extensive background check and the couple is basically put through the ringer. It's almost like running for office. Some couples find it oppressive and some couples just don't want to put their life to so much scrutiny. Most are already stressed out from not being able to conceive and to go through a U.S. adoption adds insult to injury.

2) It takes a long time for the adoption to be approved and finalized. Sometimes it falls through before it's resolved and the couple loses a lot of money. It's more likely to fall apart in the U.S. because many times the birth mother changes her mind before the birth, relatives decide to take the child or disabilities emerge (during the long process) that weren't revealed earlier.

3) A mother that gives up her child in the U.S. is a lot more likely to want to get the baby back when she starts to regret the decision or gets to a better financial position, and a lot of women sue even after the child is school-age. Most of the children adopted from overseas are orphans and the new parents won't have to worry about losing their child or having any interference from the birth parents. Also, in the U.S. there is a six-month period when the birth parent can change their mind with no questions asked.

4) In the U.S. birth parents and adopted children always end up trying to find each other later in life, and that's very painful for the adoptive parents. When you adopt from overseas there's almost no chance of that happening.

5) It can be less expensive to adopt from overseas, although I've heard it costing around $30,000 so it's actually kind of expensive to adopt regardless of where the baby comes from. But having your own baby or having fertility treatments are expensive, too.

6) I've read that there's a syndrome that women can have that compels them to do things that appear sacrificial (ie. they're giving up their life to help a baby) in order for them to get attention. I think that's sick and not a good reason to adopt, but I knew someone who was very narcisistic, in her 40s, wealthy and with two grown children she had seriously screwed up. She kept talking about adopting a Chinese baby and all I could think was I feel sorry for her and the baby because she just wanted attention. It wasn't about providing a good life for an unwanted baby, which is what adoption should be about.

7) Sometimes people truly want to help the children from overseas. They like the way it makes them feel in doing something positive, and they feel they're helping "change the world." They get satisfaction out of that... and obviously it's partially for selfish reasons when you hear them bragging. They like the recognition and social status they get from it.

8) There's a waiting list for American babies, while there are hundreds of ads about foreign babies, which appear to be plentiful. Couples assume they'll have a better chance of getting an adoption if they just go overseas instead of being on a U.S. waiting list.

9) It's hard to get a U.S. newborn or baby... and a lot of times the majority of children up for adoption are older, have disabilities or are have mental problems. That's less likely to be the case overseas because there's so many more babies and fewer people who adopt in those countries.

There may be other reasons why people choose to adopt from overseas, but I think this covers a lot of it!

Answer 5

Its harder to get american children who dont have disabilities already. Most abandoned children have had rough childhoods or were the product of a crack mother, or have fetal alcohol syndrome. Since most third world countries dont have those kinds of issues... Children are more healthy from those countries. Except for the few who are malnutritioned... but even then the US pays for mothers who are giving up their children to be properly fed. This is another example of how the US supports other countries MORE than our own... This is the land of the free... meaning... They dont pay us for squat!

Answer 6

Due to the cost. It is much cheaper to fly to a foreign country and adopt. I agree with you, there is a lot of children here that need families, but it is so difficult and expensive, it forces good families to go aboard.

Answer 7

Well here it is easy to abort unwanted children. Look what is happening in China...all those favorite sons looking for females who don't exist because of the one child per family rule established in the last 20 years. .

Answer 8

It has become popular because of all the celebrities doing it. I am sure few of these people who adopt from other countries genuinely had an interest in doing so before celebrities started doing it.

Answer 9

it is actually easier for people to adopt overseas than it is in the united states

Answer 10

I wonder the same thing.