I Need to Get a Few Things Off My Chest

Well you all already know how beautiful my children are so I am going to forgo adding new happy pictures of them today and do something I really never dreamed that I would have to do: defend my daughter's adoption. In light of new sensationalized "media" coverage I think the wonder of illegal activity surrounding adoptions from Guatemala is in people's minds and I'd like to set the record straight.

Two events bring me here to do this. The first was a completely biased report done on NPR's show All Things Considered. NPR was once a source I turned to for a balanced view on world events where I was able to formulate my own opinions. After last weeks story on Guatemalan adoptions I can no longer regard their "news" reporting as truth. They left listeners with the idea that all one needs is money and an adoption from Guatemala is "quick". Anyone that remotely knows me, knows the 12 month struggle it took to bring her home. For 8 months, I knew my baby and half of my heart was in Central America. Our case, just like all the others, went through the rigorous checks and balances of both the US and Guatemalan government. We followed the rules and brought our daughter home legally and ethically. Highly quoted in the piece was a representative from UNICEF. Yes, UNICEF has done plenty for countless children worldwide in terms of vaccines and food relief but they are VERY anti-adoption. To see what I mean please read this.

The 2nd was a reference a friend made that Guatemala is a "baby farm". Birth Mothers (often respectfully referred to as First Mothers) are NOT paid to relinquish their children in Guatemala. That is against the law. However, it should be noted that it is NOT against the law in the United States for a Prospective Adoptive Parent to provide financial assistance to an American First Mother. Money that is paid to the attorneys in Guatemala is for the care/food/medical needs of our babies, salary to the Foster Moms, translation of documents and fees for the attorney's honest work.

This is me, speaking as an adoptee. Imagine Devon's horror if one day 10 years from now she is online doing a Google search (or whatever the hip piece of technology will be at the time to find out info) and she reads an article that Guatemalan babies were bought or sold as a commodity because of sloppy reporting. Put yourself in her shoes. Put yourself in my shoes. It just is not true. To make the "media" accountable, please sign this online petition.

Yes, there are a few bad apples out there that have given adoptions a black eye. Those people have been caught and prosecuted. Rightfully so.

Adoptions in Guatemala may or may not stop at the end of this year. Not because of the unscrupulous few that tried to milk the system. Because of something called The Hague Treaty. To put it simply, The Hague Treaty was put into place to ensure that countries participating in international adoptions adhere to standards. Guatemala is working through legislation to comply with the treaty. In fact, they most likely will become compliant before the US does. That's right. The almighty US of A is not Hague Compliant.

That fact leads me to my next point. Because the US is not compliant and most other countries that are involved in International Adoption are, there are only a handful of countries that will permit Americans to adopt children from them. Russia, The Ukraine, China, Ethiopia, Haiti and Guatemala are all on the short list. From that list, you have issues with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in Eastern Europe, a nearly 3 year wait for a daughter from China and countries with black children, and let's face it, the stigma surrounding inter-race adoptions is alive and well.

Children in Guatemala are mostly cared for in private foster care, receive one on one attention. They are less likely to have FAS because culturally women do not drink alcohol there. Plus it is in our hemisphere making trips back to continually celebrate Devon's birth country an easier reality.

If you are wondering why so many children are placed for adoption in Guatemala, you can read this . It is 63 pages long and goes into detail to what the socioeconomic situation is like in Guatemala. If you've ever been to a slum in the US, it doesn't even begin to compare to the level of poverty in Guatemala. It isn't something that I talk a lot about. Devon's birth country is filled with natural beauty and warm people. Obviously the details need to be presented so you can assess for yourself why adoption is the only answer for many First Mothers.

If you've made it this far, you now understand how passionate I am about the need for the truth to be heard. You now understand that you cannot believe all that is reported in the "media". You probably already know how much we love our daughter and how much we respect the difficult decision a beautiful 18-year-old woman made to save her baby girl from poverty and social injustice.

Devon is waking from her nap now. I am signing off now to go and love my baby.