Research Paper On Biological Adoption

My adoptive mother became my legal mother and the only mother that I have ever known. As my other had legal rights to make decisions regarding my well-being, she allowed my biological mother's family to come visit me whenever they wanted. Even though my mother had passed, I was still allowed to form a bond with my biological family. I would have an open adoption with the child that I adopt in order to give them the right to know their bloodline and the same privilege that I had. An open adoption is the practice of sharing information and maintaining contact between biological and adoptive parents throughout the child's life (Benokraitis 320). I was not kept in the dark, nor hidden from my family. I do not think it is right for any child to be kept from the truth of their family. Additionally, I believe that keeping a child from knowing their family/family history could hinder a relationship with the adoptive family. Not only can it hinder the relationship, but if there were ever a life-threatening emergency, who is to say that the child, or later adult- would know how to respond in regards to their family

All three corners of the adoption triad are affected I many ways. Birth mothers are the first to be psychologically traumatized by the adoption. For the adoptees that are a part of the closed era, many of the birth mothers were young, unwed and forced to give her baby up for adoption. No other options were suggested along with no counseling on how to deal with the loss of her child, left a trauma that was not easily forgotten. Some were sent to maternity homes to hide the shame from the rest of the family and the public. The child was to be a very close kept secret mistake to be undone. While giving birth, they were shielded from seeing their child, some not even knowing if they gave birth to a boy

Today there are many issues on the topic of adoption—should the child have rights to see his or her biological parents? Is it wrong to cut off all ties between the child and parent? What about the child’s past, and why was he or she adopted? These are all issues to be concerned with, along with many others. There are plenty of people who have thought on these issues and have even studied into it. Each case will have a different outcome, of course, but overall it seems to lean toward the fact that it should not be legally made mandatory for adoptive parents to allow biological parents’ access to the children they gave birth to.

With closed adoptions, meaning those adoptions where the birth parents have no further contact with the adoptee or the adoptive family, one has to look at the fact the birth parents, who could be considered not the best of people, are out of their lives for good. There is not an issue with a birth parent coming in at some point and ruining the relationship that has been built between the adopted child and their family. However, the adoptee may develop a sense of a lack of identity since the adoptee would have no contact with their biological beginnings. Open adoptions, those adoptions where the birth parents and the forever families continue to have contact with one another throughout the child’s life, give the child the option to

It will not go away until it is answered. Only by opening sealed records could this happen for the adopted child. At one point in time, whenever an unmarried birth mother had a child, she was forced to give her newborn baby up for adoption. This kind of separation could lead to depression for the birth mother, and anxiety for the adopted child. By having access to the sealed adoption records, both mother and child can have resolution. Finding his or her biological parents gives the child better insight to understanding most of the events that he or she had to face. Many of the factors related to abandonment issues are due to finding out about the adoption. The psychological impact that this gives to the child is a negative factor compounding the difficulty of finding their birth parents. Opening records is a sensitive issue for all parties, but the adopted child or birth parent has the right to know. This should no longer be a request but a right. It is time for the government to grow a conscience and realize the lives they hold in their hands are

In 2008, an estimated 135,813 people were adopted (Davenport). Around the same amount of people are adopted each year. Many of these people are aware they are adopted, and desire to personally meet their birth family, like their birth parents or siblings. Many of these families file for adoption, but other parents may not be able to. Parents that are not able to file their child for adoption have the option to leave their children at a hospital or a church anonymously. If parents give up the child this way, the child would have no way to know or contact their birth parents or family later on in life. With requiring DNA samples with identification documents, the government can match the person’s DNA with other people, and identify the person’s birth family. This way, nearly all people can locate their separated family, and meet with each other if both parties are willing

First, adoptees have the right to have access to original birth certificates because they have questions. Questions about their health, questions about who they came, who they got their blue eyes from, and other such things. As Melinda Elkins Dawson, one of 200 newborns relocated to other states for adoption in Georgia in the 50’s and 60’s says, “Every adopted child has questions.” Adoptees, especially adoptees who are older, feel empty spaces in their history, and they want to be able to fill them. “We don’t have a history. Our history begins the day we were adopted into a new family… It’s important to know where you came from.” Bob MacNish says, of how not knowing your past, which makes an empty slate until you get adopted. As it says above, all adoptees have questions, and an

This has caused me to want to further research the issue. What are the social and emotional effects that adoption has on children?

In 2008 there were around 708,111 live births in England and Wales alone, of these births many will not be brought up by their biological parents. Whether the child is adopted from birth and brought up by none biological parents or conceived via donor insemination, more and more children are growing up having no contact with their biological parents. It’s a rising issue to consider whether or not children should be able to know who their real parents are and what the law around this area

Whichever way the disclosure occurs it almost invariably gives rise to a mix of intense feelings, this may include any or each of the following; first is disbelief, one may feel that there has been a mistake, that he could not possibly be adopted; that there has been a mix-up of identities. Second is confusion, one may feel as though "the carpet has been pulled out from under his feet". There may be a feeling that one doesn't know who he is any more, that he has no real identity and that nothing makes sense. Third reaction is anger; one may feel that he has been living a lie and that his family and others around him has deceived him. This can result in a loss of trust in one’s adoptive parents or other family members who have known, and a feeling of bitterness and hostility towards them. Finally comes sorrow and loss; one may feel that all his relationships are irretrievably altered by the knowledge, that he will never be able again to relate to people, nor they to him, as in the

Adoption is a big decision for birthparents (and adoptive parents). There are so many factors to consider when putting a child up for adoption and also when adopting a child. A majority of the time the birth father isn¡¯t even considered in the decision. Birthparents often begin to second guess their decision of adoption usually after the birth of their child. They get attached instantly and don¡¯t want to give the child up. There are lots of pros and cons and some people don¡¯t even consider when they make comments about adoptive parents and children and open adoption.

The disadvantages outweigh the advantages of terminating parental rights because the state thinks only about the well being of the child. The state should not be terminating parental rights because there are psychological issues with the child while being adopted, their schoolmates or friends believe they are socially unacceptable to them, and the birth parents are traumatized by their loss of one or more children (Impact=Birth Parents). In the U.S. 397,122 children are living without permanent families in the foster care system. 101,666 of these children are eligible for adoption, but nearly 32% of these children will wait over three years in foster care before being adopted. On any given day, over 415,000 children are living in the U.S. foster care system and the number has been rising. Nearly 108,000 of these children are eligible for adoption and they will wait, on average, four years for an adoptive family.

Although adopted children may be fortunate in being adopted by loving and caring families, this is not always the case. There are some cases where adopted children are brought to the poor care of adopting families. There are a number of ramifications for both the adopted child and the family. A few ramifications for the adopted child are developing self-esteem issues, identity issues, grief, and guilt. Children with low self-esteem may feel like they are not worth being in the family. Compared to the biological children of the parents, the adopted child may feel like the parents may not love them as much as they do with their biological children. Also, they may feel like they may not be treated equally. Identity crisis may be one of the major

There are mixed feelings about the statement that adoption is not the same as having a child of your own. In many cases that statement is true, but on many other cases, that statement is incredibly wrong. For many unfortunate children, having a biological family is rather difficult. In many third world countries, many children are forced to live on the streets and many of them are clueless as to who their biological parents are. Annually, more than 40,000 children are transferred out of and into more than 100 countries. These young victims have suffered insufficient medical care, maternal separation, or some other kinds of abuse. Over 10,000 international adopted children immigrated to the United States annually. These children provide their new adopting families character traits that are unique. But along

Adopted parents have very hard decisions to make when it comes to their children. One of the most difficult choices is whether or not to let their children see their biological parents. These choices can determine whether or not their children will respect, love, and understand why they made the choice that they did. This can play a key role in the success of the child. Sometimes if the parent makes the decision to not let them see the biological parents, the child may feel like they cannot make their own decisions and get angry at the adoptive parent, not knowing even why they made the choice. Also sometimes, if the adoptive parent lets the child see their biological parents, it can be good or bad. The child can