Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ethics in Adoption

One thing I have learned in researching adoption for the past 3 years is that there are a lot of ethical concerns in adoption. At least for me there are. I guess that is one of the reasons it has taken us so long to adopt. We probably could have had a baby 3 years ago if I didn't research everything so much and question everything so much and worry about the rightness or the wrongness of everything so much. But at what cost? I can only guess, but I am so glad that I took time to learn about the "issues" and then make an educated decision. (None of this is to say that I am by any means an expert on the topic. I still have so much to learn.) I really feel like we are going into this with our eyes wide open and with a willingness to learn all that we need to so we can be good adoptive parents.

There are a lot of things that go on in adoption that Steve and I are just not comfortable with. We spent a lot of time talking and deciding what we would be OK with or not. The following are some ethical concerns I have read about and my feelings about them. (PLEASE do not be offended if you have adopted or are planning on adopting and any of these things are a part of your adoption story, I am NOT judging you if this is the case. We all have to do what we feel best about and that is different for everyone. Also, some things that we don't feel comfortable with right now, could later change if we developed more knowledge or experience on that subject. You just never know.)

1. Open adoption
2. Race based adoption fees
3. Utah adoption laws
4. International adoption
5. Trans-racial adoption

I will break these issues down into separate posts, starting tomorrow.

3 comments:

Crystal Roach said...

I am so glad you have been publishing and sharing these things. I am learning so much and I cant wait to hear more about the issues. I read the blog on China Adoption and it really opened my eyes. Thanks!

The Turleys said...

I am anxious to hear what you have learned about these issues!

Mary said...

Looking forward to reading your thoughts!