A Rant

OK people time for me to rant. I have been reading alot lately that some people want to end ALL international adoptions. ALL. Their reasoning is that a child loses it's birth culture and a country committs social genocide through international adoption. First of all, only 1% of all international orphanes ever get adopted, domestically or internationally. And second, is it better for a child to grow up in an institution only to age out with no support system, no family? Statistics show that most of these children resort to prostitution(male and female) or some other crime to get money to live. And they often abuse drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. And some children with medical special needs often move from an institution for children to an adult institution and stay there for the rest of their lives. Yes, it is true a child may lose their birth culture through international adoption, but they gain a FAMILY! God's plan is for children to grow up in families, not institutions. Another argument is that most of the children available for international adoption are special needs kids and most adoptive families want healthy babies. Not true! People who choose international adoption know what children are available and still willingly choose it.And "special needs" can mean many different things. When we were trying to adopt from Ghana, we were interested in a 12 year old boy whose only special need was that he was a 12 year old boy! But Ghana stopped all international adoption. So what happens to that boy when he ages out of the orphanage at 16? Even Nathaniel was considered special needs because he is a boy. I cannot bear to think what would happen if we couldn't adopt him. Yes, it is best for children to remain in thier birth families and countries if possible, but because we live in a fallen, imperfect world it is NOT always possible or what is best for the child and adoption is a GOOD alternative.

Blessings,

Melissa