Global Issues

When people seek to expand their families, adoption has long been considered an option. In recent decades, the number of infants available for domestic adoption has decreased due to societal changes including, but not limited to, greater access to birth control options, reduced stigma of one-parent families, the rise of same-sex-parents, and the increase in open adoptions.  

Adopting from abroad came into practice following World War II, with a flow of orphans from Germany and Japan.  The practice came into wider use after Bertha and Harry Holt adopted children from Korea following the Korean War and then started assisting other families. Since then, the number of adoptions from abroad has increased, with the United States having become home to the greatest number of individuals adopted from abroad. 

Conventional wisdom dictates that inter-country adoption presents a win-win situation because the majority of adoptees originate from poor countries and receive the opportunity for a better life with those wishing to expand their families. However, in some cases, for each happy new family there is a devastated family in the origin country.Inter-country adoption trafficking occurs when children along the adoption continuum become commoditized, and this ranges from obtaining children in an illicit manner (e.g., false pretenses, kidnapping, forced pregnancy), to corrupt actors in the legal systems, to domestic agencies extorting non-contracted extra “fees” from prospective families. Times of crisis, such as natural disaster or civil war, render children vulnerable to this practice. The aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake and the French group, Zoe’s Ark, are examples of this. Trafficking has led to the closure of adoptions by the State Department in some countries.

The international community recognizes this issue and addresses it in certain international instruments. The Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption contains the most specific provisions to reduce the trafficking of children and sets a gold standard on legal requirements and procedures. While the United States has ratified this treaty, it has not been universally acceded to. The practice persists and there are no absolute safeguards. As a human rights issue, inter-country adoption trafficking warrants public awareness. Hopefully solutions will be found to make the process as transparent as possible, thereby making a positive difference in the lives of families worldwide.

Resources:

U.S. State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Adoptions Abroad Website http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en.html

The Hague Conference on Private International Law, Intercountry Adoption Section (originator of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption) http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=45

The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University (case studies 
http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/adoption/

A debate between Elizabeth Bartholet and David Smoin, leading scholars on inter-country adoption 
http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/bartholet/The_Debate_1_13_2012.pdf