Why are so many people adopting in places other than the USA?

CrazyChick

It's often easier and less expensive to do so. A kid up for adoption in the US has it better than an orphaned or abandoned child in Ethiopia. I mean, I don't think anyone believes the foster care system or child homes in America are good for children, but those children are immunized, fed three meals a day, go to school, and have - at least - a cot to sleep on. In poorer countries, children often have none of those luxuries (and, yes, they are indeed "luxuries" in other countries... we Americans tend to forget that a lot of the time), and have no one who is required to take any interest in them.

Yes, the problem is everywhere, but at least kids "in the system" in the US have some shot of coming through their childhood alive, healthy, with an education. Statistically, that is less likely to happen in a country where there aren't really any safety nets for children who are all alone.

Even among people who adopt within the US, few of those adoptions are on children already born. Most adoptions I know of involve a couple and a pregnant woman. Doing so allows the couple to have a newborn, know the biological mother, know she's taking care of herself (lowering the chance of the baby having fetal alcohol syndrome or some other health problem caused by the pregnant woman's habits or behavior during pregnancy) and have a lot of the legal stuff done before the baby is even born.

My suggestion is that, if this is how you feel, you should adopt children you feel called to (US born children). Let others adopt children they feel called to adopt.

Either way, the result is the same. Two children who otherwise wouldn't have had that opportunity now have a good home and someone to care about them. That matters a lot more than where they were born.

Lady Trinity

Hi there. The answer is very simple.
The chances of being able to adopt a healthy newborn (which is what most adoptive parents want) is almost nil in this country. So, people who want a newborn baby are looking to other countries to adopt.
Also, people have been moved by the heart breaking stories of how newborns are treated in some other countries. There are so many of them that they receive little more care than puppies do in our animal shelters. Some women want, with all their hearts to make a difference to at least one of these poor little babies.
Another reason is that the criteria for adopting is easier in some countries (harder in others). Some couples that cannot adopt for one reason or another in the US can adopt in another country. A simple example is the age restriction that is imposed here in the US, you have to be a certain age to adopt. Also if you are single it is easier to do a foreign adoption.
I adopted my little girl when she was an infant, I took her home when she was 24 hours old. That is very unusual. It was a private adoption and really a matter of being in the right place at the right time. I recognize that it does not happen that way for very many people.
A great many couples have gotten tired of the endless redtape and the long waiting periods involved in adopting a baby in the country. So, they look else where.
Unless you have been involved in the adoption process in this country you have no idea how endlessly frustrating and intrusive it is. Those who hang in there and actually are able to adopt really have my admiration, it is a difficult procedure.
I hope this answers your question.
Love and Blessings
Lady Trinity~

Martini5

every child anywhere all over the world needs everybody, so i think it's good that people r doing that.

tessa g

I think it is a personal decision. No one should be ridiculed for where they chose to adopt from. It depends on the family, it is their choice, not yours. If you are so pro-domestic adoption, then you can adopt domestically, but just because it works for you doesn't mean it works for everyone else.

Edit* Also, people don't go up to people and go "What you adopted from America? Why didn't you adopt from China?" It isn't fair that people who choose to adopt abroad are questioned. It's still adoption and you are still giving a child a second chance at life. To me that's a good thing, no matter where the child was adopted from. If you adopt from the U.S. good for you, if you adopted from another country good for you as well.

2good4u

maybe the country the child lives in is dangerous... like darfur let's say. if you were to adopt a child from darfur, you would be saving that kids life. therefore, if you adopt from the us, a child may die from another country.

Taffy Saltwater

Many people want a baby, no matter what country the child was born in. Older children, no matter what their country of birth, can come w/devastating emotional, mental, and physical issues and can tear a home apart.

I knew a family who adopted two Russian boys at about 6 & 8 years old. They were unable to bond, tortured animals, made life hell on the biological children. The parents are now split up - husband's living in another state w/the biological kids. Mom's being ground into a heap of jelly by these two boys and no family support. She's only there because of guilt.

Since it can take upwards of 10 years or more to adopt in the US, people who want a child soon - not maybe after 10 or more years - they go to where they can find an adoptable child w/relative speed and ease.

bigred

because in the USA there is more opportunity to take the child away.

Theodore H

Two things. First of all, love knows no boundaries. Second, the bureaucratic red tape and all that male bovine droppings that one has to deal with for USA adoptions create a situation in which it is simply far less expensive to go to Latin America or Africa or Asia/Pacific or Australia or Eastern Europe and come back with a kid.

hgnsgirl

Because it's easier.Faster.
Because even a child in our "system" is better off most times than one from another country and ...

WHY does everyone seem to feel that just because you have the disadvantage of not being born in this country it makes you any less deserving of a good life or a lesser human being?

Okay I know that's not a real answer but I had to.

Christine

A lot of people want babies, and there are waiting lists for all countries. Sometimes going to another country is faster, and people who have been 'trying' for 10 years already are tired of waiting. A very good friend of mine tried for 11 years, couldn't have a baby, was told it would be 2-4 years in the US and 1-2 years in another country, she didn't care, just wanted a child to love. SO there ya go!

AMIRA

your right why dont we, i looked into it and for me to adopted he i dont qualify. A 2nd reason I had 2nd thoughts of adoption here was because i dont want my child to grow up with me and then his birth mom come along and take him or her away. I know thats selffish thinking, but it would kill me i think

simpleminded

Possibly could be cheaper to adopt in countries other than the USA
More selection of babies to be adopted outside of the USA
Might be a Faster Adoption time than the USA

I think as long as a child gets adopted by a loving family that, that is one less child on the market to be left behind, whether it be in the ' Good Ole USA " or in another Country

ChibiKris

Because with certain countries (like China and Korea) you are likely find a baby who's mother didn't smoke crack or drink during the pregnancy. Korea has a program where babies are raised with foster parents before adoption rather than in some orphanage crib. Overseas adoptions are final...parents don't have to live in fear that the birth parents will change their minds.

starrygirl

It is a faster process to apot abroad

Ma Belle Famille

Because many people aren't racist and judgemental like you.

Signed: a mom who adopted a baby in the US, but loves that people are adopting from all over the world.

Still Me

Seriously -- why would you risk putting your child's photo on the internet???

This question has been answered so thoroughly on many many posts on Yahoo Answers! You can read in the answered questions.

But essentially, there is a huge myth about adoption in the U.S. It is not true that babies here in the U.S. are not being adopted!!! There are many more adoptive parents than there are babies to be adopted. This applies to ALL races, ALL ethnicities, and almost ALL health statuses. (Except for severely handicapped babies who require extensive medical care, etc.)

So, this is why some people turn to other countries. The children who are sittting parked in foster care have likely been abused or neglected (or both) and are school age on up, and many are in a sibling group. These children DESPERATELY need families!!! But it takes a very strong, capable family/parent to parent these children. The rewards are many -- knowing you have truly given an opportunity to a child who would have had no real family and future without you! THIS is the most deplorable waste of human life in the U.S. -- that we let children waste away in foster care.

But where does the REAL problem start? With the biological parents -- who have chosen drugs, alcohol, abusive partners, and nightlife over the care, safety and well-being of their own children! Then, we as a society become responsible for their children. The money and funding and work needs to be put into PREVENTING this from happening, by educating, training and counseling brand new parents! This should be mandatory for all bio parents (just like it is for adoptive parents). ALL parents should have to qualify to parent! All must pass a homestudy, training, edcation and counseling standards before they are allowed to take their baby home from the hospital and mess him up! Then the babies could be adopted as infants if the parents did not follow through with the required program. Revolutionary -- but think of all the precious lives that would be salvaged -- and all the children who would be given a full life, rather than expected to end up whole and healthy after being abused and neglected and tossed around all their lives!

Muffin!!!!

maybe in otha countries ppl dont have wat USA have and mayb da parents want their child 2 have a better life den they do now.So they send dem 2 da USA hopin dat their will become somebody oneday.or mayb da parents ggot pregant at a bad time and couldnt take care of their child.

patty0317

Because Angelina Jolie made it chic. Just kidding. My daughter's former baby sitter adopted 5 children from China. I think they feel like they are saving a life more than if they adopt in the US. Also, I think (but I'm not sure on this one) it may be cheaper. You don't typically have to pay the mother's medical bills overseas because the babies are in orphanages. With the baby sitter, she felt like the girl babies in China just didn't have a chance at being adopted otherwise (because of the stupid law that limits the # of kids a chinese couple can have). I do agree with you, though, that there are a lot of kids in our own country who need loving, adoptive parents.

fourcheeks4

Maybe they want a child who is ethnic so that child can lead them to a different country. Maybe it's cheaper or easier. Maybe they want to follow the angelina trend.

butrcupps

They want infants...there are a shortage of infants in this country due to the casualness of getting an abortion. People who would consider an older child, are sometimes put off by the horror stories you hear about these poor broken children who terrorize the house as a result of the horror they endured.

vaneska

I think because of the $$$

skittles

You do it because more children need homes in counties other than the US. China for example has a two-child policy(I think) so plenty of children in China could use a home. A also alot of children from Africa could use a home!!!!!
I hope that answers your question!!!!!!!

beautiful

because most people want infants and the waiting list is very very long. women who don't want their children can just abort them.since killing babies is legal in america, it happens more often. Remember this: your mother was pro-life!

mamasonny

Because its all the rage right now. Its fashionable, and you get a lot of attention by having a baby that doesn't look like anyone else's. People will look and will ask you questions and say what a "globally minded" forward thinking person you are. I don't understand, either. If I didn't see children suffering hunger and neglect right here, then I would look to other countries. I firmly believe that Angelina Jolie doesn't need to worry about the cost and the time it takes to adopt a child right here. However, Hollywood stars need a cause. I can understand why average people looking to adopt go to different countries. It IS much faster and much cheaper. I know from experience that the price of adoption is prohibitive.

Mrs.Durossndamaken

either its danger of the child where it was born, or maybe just the joy of having an exotic child at your home....? i dunno but i think it doesnt really matter as long as the child is in a safe home and has a family thats loves him or her.

Wildflower

Honestly I think because it has become the "in" thing to do. Celebs like Angelina Jolie make it seem like the "right" thing to do. I'm not saying that her adopting any baby is a bad thing - of course it's wonderful to help any child in need of a loving family - but there are soo many babies right here in our own country who need that love too! The USA has an image of being well-off, so I think a lot of people are blinded to the fact that there are lots of needy children (and people) right here in our neighborhoods!

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