Uganda: New law makes it hard for foreigners to adopt kids

Adoptionland NewsAdoption, Adoption Trafficking, Excerpts

AMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill that says only Ugandans can be legal guardians of orphaned or destitute children, in a move aimed at stemming the rising number of adoptions by foreigners. The bill eliminates a legal gap that allowed foreigners to apply for and get legal guardianship within days of arriving in the country, said lawmaker …

Chinese Officials Seized and Sold Babies, Parents Say

Adoptionland NewsAdoption, Adoption Trafficking, Agency Complaints, Excerpts, Rights

LONGHUI COUNTY, China — Many parents and grandparents in this mountainous region of terraced rice and sweet potato fields have long known to grab their babies and find the nearest hiding place whenever family planning officials show up. Too many infants, they say, have been snatched by officials, never to be seen again. But Yuan Xinquan was caught by surprise …

China’s Adoption Scandal Sends Chills Through Families in U.S.

Adoptionland NewsAdoption, Adoption Trafficking, Agency Complaints, Excerpts, Rights

By JOHN LELAND IN almost any adoption, the new parents accept that their good fortune arises out of the hardship of the child’s first parents. The equation is usually tempered by the thought that the birth parents either are no longer alive or chose to give the child a better life than they could provide. On Aug. 5, this newspaper published a …

Bali orphanages: How tourist cash funds a racket

Adoptionland NewsAdoption, Adoption Trafficking, Agency Complaints, Excerpts, Rights, Videos

As tourism has boomed in Bali, it has had a strange side-effect, doubling the number of orphanages on the island in 20 years. Tourists’ donations keep the orphanages going – but some are effectively rackets, exploiting children and holidaymakers alike.  I met Pam and Samantha, an Australian mother and daughter who had traveled all the way from Perth, with a …

The International Adoptions Lobby: an insider’s perspective

Adoptionland NewsAdoption Trafficking, Excerpts

A review by Rupert Wolfe-Murray Romania – for export only, the untold story of the Romanian ‘orphans’ by Roelie Post There are several unusual things about Roelie Post and her important new book on international adoptions. An employee of the European Commission, between 1999 and 2005 Post handled one of its most controversial dossiers: Romania’s institutionalised children. She is one …