Burton 1

Abbey Burton

Professor Flores

Composition 2

12 April 2019

Why International Adoption Must Be Considered

Why adopt internationally when there are so many kids here in America who need

homes? Whether adopting internationally or domestically, adoption is such an important thing

that will change a persons perspective on life. The accomplishment of not only changing one

child’s life forever, but making a difference in the world is truly indescribable. This is something

that is a once in a life time experience. International adoption must be considered because of the

poverty children are living in overseas, the overflow of orphans other countries are experiencing,

and the declining rates of overseas adoption, leaving millions of children homeless for life.

The first reason why international adoption is so important is one of the more well

known reasons. When you think of foreign countries, beautiful architecture and luxurious living

conditions is probably not what first comes to your mind, and you would be right. The living

conditions in many foreign conditions are truly tragic, and what is considered a luxury there is an

expectation in America. For example, over half of the world does not have a clean water source.

There are thousands of people dying every day from starvation and thirst. Some even die from

drinking so much dirty water that is infected with algae, parasite, and waste. Virginia Spence

writes in her article “Why Do Some People Choose to Adopt Internationally Rather Than

Domestically?” about how she once planned to adopt a child from America, but after looking

further onto international adoption she changed her mind. She mentions how the the thought of

children living in such awful conditions in Foreign countries broke her heart, and how a close
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family friend further influenced her decision based on their experience. In summary, Spence

states that it is crucial to consider the living conditions of children in foreign countries when

looking into adoption, and she encourages her reader to do more research or talk to someone who

is experienced in adoption. She says that lifestyle is such an important factor because of simple

health concerns, and an adoptive family could be saving a life.

Not only are some countries just unpleasant to live in, but can be severely dangerous.

Foreign countries have exceptionally high crime rates compared to the United States. Terrorism

is raging in the middle east, and will continue to get worse. According to Caitlin Foster’s article

for Business Insider, some of the countries around the world experiencing this dangerous activity

include China, the Philippines, Brazil, most African countries, and Columbia. Studies show that

more than 18753 people die from terrorist attacks each year, and a significant portion of that

number is children.

Child slavery is another huge epidemic in foreign countries. Thousands of children are

put to work in factories for only cents per day. For many of them, they are trying to provide for a

family or siblings that they have to take care of in parental absence. Being drafted to fight in a

war is also a huge reality for many children. This can happen as young as the age of 12 in some

countries. In the majority of third world countries, shelter and a safe place to live can also be

scarce. There is often nothing to protect people from rain, natural disasters, severe cold fronts or

extreme heat. Children living in fear of being killed, worked to death, starving, dying of thirst, or

worrying about where to find shelter, is a disturbing and heart-wrenching thought. These

conditions are truly horrific and thankfully are not practiced in the United States, which we

should count as a blessing. It is important that we often recognize how blessed we are, and do
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what we can to help those small hearts in other countries that are not so fortunate to experience

anything like we have.

This is an image of a very realistic living condition for many people in foreign countries.

There is dirt everywhere, people often do not live in buildings or houses, and there is absolutely

nowhere to find a clean place to sit, as you can see. Often times many children (up to 10-20) are

placed in one household for a woman to take care of, and they end up being neglected.

Tragus, Jasmine.”A Woman’s Investment” Pro Blogger, 27 March 2009.

http://awomansinvestment.blogspot.com/2009/03/tribute-how-your-blog-post-can-raise_27.html

A little known fact about the adoption/ foster care system in America is that foster parents

is this countries biggest need. America is in great need of parents who are willing to foster

children from newborns- 17 year olds. It has been Statistically proven that over 50% of foster

children end up being adopted by their foster parents. This is the most common way to adopt in

America, and is in very high demand and also a very effective way to smoothly integrate that

child’s lifestyle into your own. It can be very hard to bring a child from a whole different culture
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(whether that culture be originating internationally or here in America), but fostering to adopt is a

great way to make sure that child can adapt well. In his article, Why Adopt Abroad When There

Are Many Kids in Need Here?, Dawn Davenport touches on these statistics and shows that even

with the dire need of international adoptions, the need in America for foster parents is sky high.

He discusses how international adoption can make a huge impact on the system and how the

luxuries of the United States are incomparable to the systems children are placed in overseas, but

these luxuries in the American system are very developed. Adoption is extremely important here

in the United States, and there are alternative options that provide a variety of ways children can

be placed in loving homes that are not granted in many other countries.

Child development is a concept that is highly valued in American society. Mental health

and physical health is taken very seriously and highlighted as a part of developmental society.

Children in some countries do not have the benefits of doctors or treatment like there is in

America. The development of children in some countries (such as Chad, South Africa, Columbia,

etc.) is often delayed or incomplete. Mentally they are years behind their age, and do not have

educational opportunities. Children in the foster/ adoption system in America have access to

doctors and health care, and educational opportunities. Physical development is also a challenge

for many kids in these countries as well as others. A shockingly large number of children are

malnourished and have diseases that need immediate treatment. While there are projects and

missions teams going into the world to try and change some of these issues, you personally can

save a child if you think adoption is right for you.

One main concern that many adoptive families haves the cost and time. These are very

real concerns, but the good thing is that these are variables. They depend on the situation and

what you where you want to adopt from, whether or not you are willing to take in a special needs
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child, and countless other things that are need to be taken into consideration. My family went

through the international adoption process to adopt my sister, Melayah, from China. We

originally filled out all of our paperwork in 2006 and filed to adopt a healthy baby girl from

China. At this time I was six years old and my brother was three, and we were ready to complete

our family. I interviewed my mom about the whole process emotionally, financially and how

time consuming it was. “The family just didn't feel complete. I felt called to help a child in need

and had a heart for China, and after filing the paperwork, I could feel that this would be a good

thing.” she said. The process certainly did not go how we expected it to. We waited over six

years, and still were not even close to the top of the adoption list. By that time my brother and I

were older and my family thought that we could handle a special needs child. We refiled our

paper work and said that we were ready to take on a bigger commitment. within hours, the

adoption agency contacted us and said that they thought they had a match for us. We were so

eager to look into our newest potential family member. We were shocked to learn that the reason

for her being classified as “special needs” was a large birthmark on her neck. After talking to our

agents, they explained that many countries look at any body marking, abnormality, or small

difference is looked at as special needs. This is a huge reason that there are an overflow of

children in need of adoption in other countries. Families think that they are not ready to take on a

special needs child (which very well may be the case) but in reality, so many of the children

really have no disabilities at all. Our adoption story is truly one that is special to our family, and

an unforgettable experience that resulted in the completion of our family.

What doe it really mean to be an adoptive parent? In his book Sons in the Son, David

Garner really touches on what it means to be an adoptive parent. He tells how many families who

choose to adopt feel that it is their calling to reach out to children in need. Having the
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opportunity to share your experiences, morals, guidelines and wisdom with a child who would

have never had that opportunity otherwise is a huge blessing. There are so many more

opportunities to reach out and make these types of connections in the United States through

simple outreach programs and volunteer options than there are in foreign countries. Adoption is

really an amazing way to reach other cultures and change the life of a child.

A main concern of many adoptive parents is the wait time. The average domestic

adoption wait list is significantly shorter than that of many countries. There is not only one

reason for this, but all of the factors added up make for a long, tedious process. The first step of

the process is determining if the parents who wish to adopt are suitable to be parents. It should be

very obvious that this is a huge factor in the adoption process, after all the reason for adoption is

to find a fitting home. This step includes background checks, fingerprinting, medical history

search, and financial stability research. All of these things make for a suitable home for a child to

be placed in. Another thing that needs to be taken into consideration are the specific needs,

interests, or wants, those must be met by the family. No child wants to leave their country and be

placed into a random home somewhere where they do to feel comfortable. This is much easier

the younger the child is, for obvious reasons being that the child has not developed a sense of

self as much. Another thing that must happen before the adoption is completed is the issue that

International requirements must be met. On both countries sides (America and the country that

you wish to adopt from), a certain procedure must be followed to make sure the countries are

comparable and on the same track. This step mostly requires lots of documentation.

The adoption process, proven to be long and tedious, can be a lot to handle. Lots of times,

American government processes and works a lot faster than foreign countries government does.

This is often a reason for the processes above to take even longer than they sound. However, the
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process is very rewarding when it is all finished. There are thousands of success stories in

adoption that are so inspiring and relieving, which can encourage many more families to

consider the benefits of international adoption.

A couple of many examples involving successful adoption stories are displayed in the

YouTube documentary “International Adoption”. In this documentary, you can see the unique

stories of different families and their journey of international adoption. It includes a variety of

different nationalities, family situations, races, and genders of the children. Some families had

biological children before the adoption, some dedicated to building their families based solely on

adoption, and some had only a few children. The children bright smiles in the stories give hope

as they express their gratitude and thankfulness that their families were so selfless and passionate

to reach out and take them in to their own family. One of the families in the documentary share

how they adopted a baby from China, and she has become so close with her siblings, they now

consider each other best friends.

One of the personal adoption stories that stood out to me personally was the story of

Virginia Spence. She was not only an adoptive parent to foreign children, but also a foster parent.

In her article Why do Some People Choose to Adopt Internationally Rather Than Domestically?

she shares how after adoption from a foreign country, you can built a special connection towards

that country. For example, after adopting my sister from China, all of the Chinese culture became

more meaningful to us. Every month we go to a Chinese restaurant and eat out to celebrate her.

Spence also talks about how meaningful it is to hear a child call her “mom”. This is a really

impactful thing for every mother, but knowing that you have changed a kids life for the better is

a really big accomplishment. “I sat with my mother yesterday, watching my youngest son jump

in mud puddles. We adopted him at birth and he has been the light of our life ever since. While
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he may not look like us, he is every bit of a member of the family. My mom noted in this

moment that she has been worried about how she might feel once he came home, however she

now cannot imagine life without him.” she says. “Adoption changes the hearts of family

members who may think that love only comes from DNA. Love is born in many ways and

nurtured through time.” ( Spence, 3)

“Adoption is an ancient practice, both historically and evolutionarily, one that continues

to generate fervent debate and controversy. It involves the most essential of human relationships,

the relationship between parent and child. What does it mean to be a parent? In what kinds of

settings can or should children be raised, and who should decide? International adoption in

particular is controversial because it raises complex issues of culture and privilege. It calls

attention to the abysmal circumstances in which many of the world’s people live, circumstances

that can include deep poverty, lack of medical care and social services, unaccountable

governments, malnutrition, fractured and neglect. Adoption is controversial because it compels

us to consider our moral obligations to children born into these circumstances.” (Compton, 3) In

her book Adoption Beyond Borders, Rebecca Compton discusses many aspects of international

adoption. A few things she touches on are culture, race, identity, biology of parenting, and

adoptive families in society. One thing that is important when looking at international adoption is

knowing that foreign children need homes more than anything. It takes a special family and a lot

of love to take them from one country to another. A child’s culture should always be apart or who

they are, as well as their race and identity. It is important to keep these things in mind when

adopting a child, from wherever that may be. American children grow up with privileges that

children overseas do not, and although they still deserve to have a loving family and no children

should be deprived of that, the fact is that they are more privileged than many of the children
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with a family in other countries. Compton believes that parenting is a full time job and the

culture and identity of an adoptive child is something that should never be forgotten even when

brought to America, and when brought into a good home they can grow up with a better sense of

identity and self love.

So why should you consider International adoption when there are so many homeless

children right here in the United States that need homes? There are a thousand things that need to

be taken into consideration when thinking about adopting regardless, but deciding where you are

called to adopt from is a huge and curtail part to the process. Hopeless children have every right

to be taken into a loving home and get to experience what we call family. The word family is

defined as a group consisting of parents and children living in a household. But it is so much

more than four walls, two adults and some children. It is an experience that shapes who you are,

what your values are, where your identity is formed, where you learn to love and communicate

with other people, and where, at the end of the day, you feel like you belong. The American

dream is alive and booming all through the country and although it may not meet the stereotype,

I believe that everyone in this country experiences it to an extent. Foreign countries all over the

world live in a completely different environment than we could even imagine. They are deprived

of every day luxuries that we experience without acknowledging. Children living in fear of not

getting to eat their next meal, find a clean water source, being sold or forced into child labor,

drafted into battle, or not finding shelter for the night is something that is heartbreaking to think

about and not the way anyone in this world should live. Foster care is an American privilege that

is not given in the majority of overseas countries, and it is in great demand here. More and more

children are being added into the foster care system every day and it is crucial that there are

families to provide a temporary home for these children until their parents return, or they are
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adopted. Over 50% of children in the American foster care system are adopted by their foster

parents, which is a great way to go about adopting in America. Children start developing from

birth and continue to physically and mentally develop until they reach adulthood, and cannot do

this properly if they do not have the right care and resources. America provides such great

opportunities that children in foreign countries will never get to experience. If we choose not to

seize the opportunity to share our faith, home, knowledge, and benefits of the American Dream

with a child who would never have experienced or even known about these luxuries, then we are

simply robbing adolescence around the world of their full potential.

Works Cited

Burton, Lynna. Personal interview. 1 April. 2019.

Compton, Rebecca J. Adoption beyond Borders: How International

Adoption Benefits Children. Oxford University Press, 2018.

Davenport, Dawn. “Why Adopt Abroad When There Are Many Kids in

Need Here?” Creating a Family, Foster Care Adoption, 27 June

2018, creatingafamily.org/ adoption-category/adopt-kids/.

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Foster, Caitlin. “These Are the World's 20 Most Dangerous Countries,

and Photos Showing What Life Is like There.” Business

Insider, Business Insider, 1 Nov. 2018,

www.businessinsider.com/what-life-is-like-in-some-of-the-worlds-most-

dangerous-countries-2018-10.

Garner, David B. Sons in the Son: the Riches and Reach of Adoption in

Christ. P & R Publishing, 2016.

Jordan, Miriam. “Overseas Adoptions By Americans Continue to

Decline.” New York Times, 13 Apr. 2017.

Spence, Virginia. “Why Do Some People Choose to Adopt

Internationally Rather Than Domestically?” Adoption.com, 1

July 2018, adoption.com/why-choose-adopt- internationally-than-

domestically.

xanningk. “International Adoption Documentary.” YouTube, YouTube, 13

Dec. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD8y6_jS96k.

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