The Dark Side of International Adoption

Corruption and scandal taint this once thriving practice.

A Drastic Drop - Yet, since 2004, the once-rising number of overseas adoption has been in a steady, drastic decline. In many countries, the lucrative nature of the practice has led to rising corruption, regulations and the ultimate cancellation of the practice. (Photo: JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK/AFP/Getty Images)
Who's Monitoring International Adoption? - The Hague Adoption Convention was established in 1995 to offer a standard set of safety measures for international adoptions. While the pact involves requiring its 90 member nations to require 10 hours of training to adoptive hopefuls, there is virtually no home monitoring and not much recourse against abusive parents.(Photo: Courtesy of the US Department of State)
The Vulnerable Victims - Earlier this month, Carri Williams, a U.S. adoptive mother, was found guilty of homicide after starving her 13-year-old Ethiopian-born daughter Hana Williams and locking her outside in the cold, where she died of hypothermia. William's husband was convicted of manslaughter. That tragic case and recent others, including the death of 3-year-old Russian adoptee Max Shatto, have spotlighted the dark side of international adoption.(Photo: Courtesy of ABC News)
Forced into Adoption - When Ethiopia-born Tarikuwa Lemma and her young sisters came to America, they and their widowed father were under the impression that they would be participating in an educational exchange program. They would soon learn that they had fallen victim to an international adoption scandal, in which they were adopted by U.S. couples against their will. (Photo: Courtesy of MSNBC)Save the Children - “The American government will fund this Christian movement to take action immediately,” wrote Lemma in a satirical op-ed for The Grio. “It is our duty as Americans to help the children of Ethiopia and, in the future, the world. After all, every few minutes that we don’t help Ethiopia, another Ethiopian child is born.”(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Who's Monitoring International Adoption? - The Hague Adoption Convention was established in 1995 to offer a standard set of safety measures for international adoptions. While the pact involves requiring its 90 member nations to require 10 hours of training to adoptive hopefuls, there is virtually no home monitoring and not much recourse against abusive parents.(Photo: Courtesy of the US Department of State)

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