Guatemalan Adoption today

I can’t read articles like this one without feeling incredibly lucky. Our adoption went through about six months before the change.

It was always clear to me that the old process had so much money flying around in a poor country that the potential for abuse was huge. We went with a large, reputable adoption agency for just that reason. We felt that a large organization working in many countries couldn’t afford the reputation damage of a baby for money scam.

For our process they did take steps to prevent abuse. The birth mother had to be photographed with the baby when she put her up for adoption as proof that she did so voluntarily. They ran a DNA test to verify that it was really her baby.

Not that all of that couldn’t be forged in a third world country. So you really never know.

But as the article states, the one good thing about the old process was that it was quick. As hard as it must be to give up your baby, at least you know he/she will have the opportunity for a good life in America, not in an orphanage. I agree that you need a process to make sure people aren’t buying/selling babies or pressuring birth mothers to give up babies, but you have to balance that against the understanding that a quick adoption helps the baby.