Adoption and its Reasons - Research Paper Example

Adoption What is Adoption? Adoption is the process undergone when a person or couple assumes the role of parenting for a child, permanently transferring all rights and responsibilities from the birth parents to the new parents. Unlike guardianship or fostering, adoption is intended to be a permanent status change for the child (Reitz & Watson 39). As adoption is a perpetual process, there is a need for legal or religious recognition, which is part of the reason why adoption involves numerous procedures. In the past, adoption was usually done based on inheritance rights or the responsibilities of parents. As such, there was no real process to pass a child onto a new family, since the new family often consisted of known relatives. Nowadays, adoption is a lengthy process as more and more children are being adopted into families that they are not related to. Reasons for Adopting The primary reason that a person or couple chooses to adopt is because they are unable to have children of their own. Due to infertility in either the man or the woman, a child cannot be produced. There are other options for having children, such as artificial insemination or surrogation, but many infertile couples prefer to use their inability to have children to offer homes to children that do not already have a home. They each lack something, and through each other they are able to become a complete family. Another reason that someone may adopt is because they are single but are still wanting children. In a case such as this, the potential parent wants to start a family, though does not want to be in a relationship to accomplish this. There are many single people that believe a family does not always have to consist of parents and children, but can be considered complete when there is a child (Jasper 58), despite the lack of a second parental figure. As such, there are many potential single parents that are looking into starting a family without needing a significant other of the opposite sex. There are quite a few people who want a family without the ties of marriage. Similarly, homosexual couples that are unable to have children feel that the best way to start a family is to adopt. While homosexual couples can peruse artificial insemination, many of them prefer to adopt; there are many male homosexual couples that are against any other alternative methods of having children, though female homosexual couples are more lenient with the idea of artificial insemination. All the same, not being able to physically start a family of their own, yet wanting to attain every benefit of marriage or a legal union, homosexual couples look to adoption to complete their family. There are other reasons that people decide to adopt, some of which can be considered self-serving. Some parents prefer to adopt a child because it is more affordable, especially if the child they are adopting is older, which means the parents do not have to worry about buying diapers, clothes, and special food. Furthermore, public adoptions through the state often means that the parents are given a monthly allowance from the state; unfortunately, many parents adopt because they know that the state will pay them for it. They are unable to afford more children of their own, so they rely on someone else to increase the size of their family while taking monetary advantage of the situation. Another self-serving reason that people adopt is because some women do not like what pregnancy does to the shape of their bodies. They do not want to gain weight, deal with stretch marks, or put their perfect figure at risk, so they adopt a child to fulfill their need to be a parent without changing their appearance. Finally, adoption is also done because it has become an increasing media trend, with famous names such as Angelina Jolie and Madonna adopting children. Single women and couples feel more empowered when they are able to compare themselves to big names such as these. Outcome of the Adoptee When adopting, most potential parents look at adopting infants and young children so that they may play a role in the child’s growth and upbringing. Single parents are more likely to adopt older children since they are already more self-sufficient, though some of them also prefer adopting younger children. These infants that grow up in the home of their new family face very few problems later in life, though some issues have been known to arise when the child learns that they are not related by blood to their family members. That child is able to enjoy a happy life full of love from their adopted family. In most states, children remain in the adoption system until they are eighteen, though many of these children attempt to become emancipated at the age of sixteen. There are a couple of states where children age out at the age of sixteen, though they are given help in starting adult lives of their own (Johnson & Grant 22). Unfortunately, there are many children that enter the adoption system at a young age and remain there until they age out of the system; some children are older when they enter the adoption system and have a smaller chance of being adopted due to their advanced age. Many children that have been in the adoption or foster care systems for a lengthy amount of time usually find themselves facing issues involving rejection or the feeling of being unwanted. Some of them have trouble in school, making and maintaining healthy friendships with their peers, or finding it difficult to become close to people of authority. All of these can have lasting implications after an older child has been adopted. Fortunately, most children in the adoption system, regardless of their age, adapt well to their new lives with their new families. Some therapy or counseling is involved for some adoptees, especially the older ones, and their new parents and siblings, but the support has proven to be helpful in allowing the family members to adapt to the new changes. In the case of open adoptions, which is when the adoptee is able to have contact with their birth parents, further therapy is usually require as children feel conflicted about which set of parents they should be loyal to. Adoption Controversies Prior to the early 2000s, adoption was available to all parents or individuals who met the certain financial and environmental qualifications (Askeland 112). Though the processes were lengthy, these people were able to adopt, thus adding on to their already existing family, or else starting a new family altogether. However, many views have changed over the years in regard to who should be able to adopt and who should not. These changes have come along as a result of the family structure being altered with single people wanting to become parents and homosexual couples being allowed to marry. There are numerous people that are under the impression that a real family consists of two parents of the opposite sex and children; a traditional couple is the only couple that can properly provide love and support for an adopted child. As such, single parents, homosexual couples, and interracial couples should not be able to adopt since they do not match this idealized concept of a true family. This misconception has caused much dispute among the people who are not classified as a traditional couple but want to adopt. Alas, there are some states that will only allow heterosexual couples to adopt (Mallon 74), though they must also meet the financial and environmental requirements as set down by the state, as well as background checks to ensure that the child will be safe with the parents. The prime concern in regard to the structure of the potential adoptive family is that the adopted child will become confused by a structure that is otherwise considered unconventional. When leaving the environment of a foster home or orphanage, the state, with the best interests of the child in mind, wants to make sure that the child is getting the ideal family that they deserve. A child straight from an orphanage might be confused or else unstable if entering a family that consists of two female parents, a black mother and a white father, or just a mother or a father but not both. This especially holds true for the younger adoptees. However, on the other side of this argument, it is also believed that any person can be a loving, supportive parent, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation. To suggest that people may not properly love their adopted child because of their own marital status is a ridiculous and untrue thought (Kennedy 463). The only thing that matters is that the child is entering a home that is ready and willing to love them and accept them as family. As long as the person or couple is able to financially take care of a child and provide them with a safe, nurturing, and loving environment, then there should be no reason that they cannot adopt. Furthermore, there is nothing to suggest that a heterosexual, single race couple will be perfect at raising an adopted child. Indeed, many of the children placed in adoption or foster care come from these ideal families, and yet they were either unwanted by their parents or they were taken from their parents by the state. The only exception to this is if the children were orphaned. There is no set physical description of what makes a good parent. It is an issue if it is a single parent and they are living on welfare, then they would not make a reliable adoptive parent. Yet if the potential adopter has a house and a good job and income, and they have no issues regarding a background check, then there is nothing to say that they will be a bad parent. In regard to the parents, adopting has little to do with external factors, but more to do with the internal abilities to love the child as their own. Conclusion Adoption is a process that allows a child in an orphanage or foster home the chance to experience life with a family that is willing to accept new, unrelated members. Many people decide to adopt because they are unable to have children of their own, or they want to give an essentially homeless child the opportunity to be accepted into a familial unit. While adoption involves lengthy processes that exist to ensure that children are going to physically, emotionally, and financially safe homes, there are concerns involving the structure of potential adoptive families. Quite a few people are under the impression that the only family worthy of adopting a child is one that consists of a mother and a father of the same race, though others still believe that it all comes down to love that should guarantee a child a home. Works Cited Askeland, Lori. Children and Youth in Adoption, Orphanages, and Foster Care. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. Print. Jasper, Margaret C. The Law of Adoption. New York: Oceana, 2008. Print. Johnson, Jerry L., and George Grant. Adoption. Boston: Pearson/Allyn And Bacon, 2005. Print. Kennedy, Randall. Interracial Intimacies: Sex, Marriage, Identity, and Adoption. New York: Vintage, 2004. Print. Mallon, Gerald P. Lesbian and Gay Foster and Adoptive Parents. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America, 2006. Print. Reitz, Miriam, and Kenneth W. Watson. Adoption and the Family System. New York: Guilford Press, 1992. Print. Read More