My thoughts for this Saturday

Need for revamping with creativity

A friend in the US sent me this article recently. I suggest that you read this article first to follow what I am saying below:

Link to the article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1626500.ece

I had been counseling the prospective adoptive parents at the Department of Reproductive Medicine of reputed hospital for few months now and across the board, I am being asked this question “How soon can I get the child”?

To the best of my abilities I try to answer that question from various sources of information that I had gathered that not to expect anything less than a year. On May 1st, CNN-IBN featured a reputed adoption professional/ activist who quoted that there are literally hundreds of families waiting to adopt in the National Capital Region (New Delhi) but not many children are available for adoption.

I have also personally known a couple in Andhra Pradesh who have been waiting for months to hear from Shishu Vihar in Hyderabad to adopt a child.

In this background, it is disappointing to read that attempts are underway to give Indian children in adoptions to foreigners. Someone will have to explain to India about the following:

1. What attempts are being made to make the concept of adoption widely accepted in India?

2. Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) web site states the number of domestic adoptions per year to be around 2000 +. If India is eager to give Indian children to foreigners, what happens to those parents that are in waiting in India (as the professional quoted above)?

3. There are guidelines for the order of preference (first Indians in India, second Indians abroad, third mixed families abroad, and lastly foreigners abroad) to place children in inter-country adoptions from India. Will those guidelines be altered now?

Article also talks about abandonment of children in India. What about those that never see the light of the day in guise of infanticide/ illegitimacy? These practices are held highly responsible for rapid decline of sex ratio in India (1000:937 as per 2001 India census). The Lancet, a British Medical Journal (2006) estimates this number to be around 10 million girl babies in the last 20 years.

Concept of adoption is not only important for receiving children but also to place children for adoption. If India embraces, concept of adoption can become a viable and a healthy alternative plan for many to place their children in adoption that they may live in homes than lie in graves.

Last but not the least; let no one think that I am against inter-country adoptions. Personally I had benefited through inter-country adoptions twice in my life. I understand the need for revamping the system but not without creativity, logic and reasoning.

What do you think?

RN