July 12, 1996
Recent television and newspaper stories have reported on the plight of American couples who have adopted Eastern European babies with undisclosed mental and/or physical problems. Whether this is an actual trend or a journalistic fad to which Swans has just succumb is up to the reader to research. It is an interesting topic, nonetheless.One question that comes to mind is what motivates potential parents to turn to other countries for adoption? To give a child the opportunity to make in the U. S. of A.? To avoid the time and bureaucracy associated with adopting in the States? To adopt a white infant? Anyway, the reason is not important. The fact is, once a baby is adopted, he/she should not be returned because of ill health. This is a human being, not a dog.
Obviously, the adopting parents should examine the baby's records and background to the extent possible. Beyond that, what do they expect? A 30-day money-back guarantee? A five-year warranty? If they want to minimize the risk of finding themselves with tainted goods, they can play the game here. (By the way, still no guarantee.)
Now, what about the adopted child's rights? Would you want to be raised by parents who were ready to take you back to the dog pound because you weren't perfect? Suppose one day, maybe at the age of six or seven, the child looks at these people and thinks "This isn't what I had in mind at all. I'd like to exchange them for another set."
Now *that* would be an interesting trend...
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