Wednesday, February 06, 2008

International adpotion according to...

John Stossel. And he's GOT IT RIGHT!

Okay, in full disclosure, I don't always ultimately agree with Mr. Stossel, but I generally do find myself impressed with the arguments he makes. He often offers up a compelling case on a variety of topics.

But here, with regards to international adoption and in particular, adoption in Guatemala, Mr. Stossel hit the proverbial nail on the head. Here are just a few pointed snippets from his op-ed:

... a UNICEF representative who huffed to The New York Times that adoption "has become a business instead of a social service."
Oh, yes, everyone loves "social service." But when adoption was a government-run social service in Guatemala, the results were disastrous.


and this:

Guatemala is one of the more corrupt nations in the world, 111th out of 179 countries, says Transparency International.
Even if the new bureaucracy isn't corrupt, there's little chance it will process adoptions as quickly as the brokers did because without profit, it has no incentive to move the kids through the cumbersome adoption process. When other countries have put adoption in government hands, adoptions slowed or stopped. Paraguay went from sending more than 400 kids to the U.S. in 1996 to sending zero in 2006.
That's a tragedy.


To read the op-ed in its entirety, go here.

Take that, Unicef!!!!

4 comments:

nora said...

I loved this article - I wish it was longer, but I was certainly appreciative of its thought and motive.

Its your turn - I'm thinking about you guys! Hope you and Griffin get to see MI so soon! And yea for Illini - if you need another Illini cheerleader outfit let me know!

Madelyn's Mommy said...

I loved this article. It's about time someone write something like this!


Andrea

Chris and Lindsey Wheeler said...

LOVE, LOVE THIS!!! Thank you for sharing!!! Do you own a children's shop. I am about to go and search for stuff for Eliana!!! Thanks for posting a comment. Spread the word about the necklaces to all of your Guatemommas!!!

Blessings,
Lindsey Wheeler

Chris and Lindsey Wheeler said...

AND YOUR KIDDOS ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lindsey