This guest blog post was written by Erin Lysne.
(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
The Wall Street Journal published an editorial on February 4th 2013 by Mary Anastasia O’Grady called Guatemala’s Inhumane Adoption Law: A U.S.-backed policy bars thousands of children from being given homes in America. In the online version of the article there is also a video segment called “Cheating the Orphans” where the O’Grady is interviewed by James Freeman. O’Grady critiques the Guatemalan government for suspending international adoptions in 2008 due to reports of kidnapped children and the unusually high rate of Guatemalan children being adopted internationally. To give this perspective, Guatemala’s population is 14 million yet in 2006 it ranked as the third highest country in number of international adoptions finalized (China ranked 1st, followed by Russia). O’Grady goes on to criticize The U.S. Department of State and UNICEF for supporting the Guatemalan government’s decision to stop international adoption while making reforms.
O’Grady makes an appealing argument for the need of children to have permanent families instead of institutions. A permanent family of your own is extremely important, but the situation is more complicated than O’Grady portrays it. While O’Grady is upset with the U.S. for backing the halt of international adoptions, the U.S. is obligated to abide by the Hague Convention . The purpose of the Hague Convention is to create standards for international adoptions to protect children and their adoptive parents. By The Hague Convention standards Guatemala was not compliant and both Guatemala and the U.S. agreed on the need for reform to stop the corruption.
One of the strengths of O’Grady’s article and video is the criticism of the Guatemalan government for moving at a very slow pace at processing the remaining adoptions of Guatemalan kids who had already been matched to adoptive families prior to 2008 and were therefore “grand-fathered” in. Numbers differ, but around 100-200 children are in this limbo stage waiting to be cleared for adoption for five years now. The adopted families in the U.S. that they are matched with think of them as their children, but they don’t live in the same country.
O’Grady’s argument promotes the myth that families in the U.S. are noble rescuers for adopting a child from a developing country and saving them from a terrible life. In the video O’Grady uses language such as “rescue”, “international escape route” and “prison sentence” to describe the plight of Guatemalan orphans. The Guatemalan government says that 85 children previously in limbo have either been adopted within Guatemala or reunited with their biological families . O’Grady doesn’t seem able to see past poverty and recognize the benefits to a child in potentially being reunited with family or relatives. However, O’Grady is absolutely correct that it is inexcusable that Guatemala is taking so long to process the remaining adoptions of children in limbo: five years may not be long to an adult, but to a child it’s their whole life.
To view the video click here or view below:
For more information on finalizing the adoptions of Guatemalan children already matched to U.S. adoptive families:
http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=guatemala_9
For more information on The Hague Convention:
http://adoption.state.gov/hague_convention/overview.php
