Adoption in the News 2009

There are only a few more days in 2009. Soon, a new decade will be upon us. At the end of the year, I like to reflect on what has happened in the previous 12 months. I went through this year’s posts on the Adoption Blogs, and on each of the blogs I write - Hoping to Adopt, US Infant Adoption, and Transracial/Transcultural Adoption – I’m summarizing for you. Here on Transracial/Transcultural Adoption, you get a list of posts that we wrote responding to adoption-related news. I chose to put the news links on this blog because most of the posts relate to race or international adoption.

• Ethical International Adoptions (January 30, 2009): about Liberia suspending inter-country adoptions.


• Coward Nation? (February 19, 2009): about Eric Holder’s controversial statement “Though the nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”
• Another Father Denied His Child (February 26, 2009): about a father who lost his child to an adoption to which he did not agree.
• Headlines I Hate to See (February 26, 2009): Mandy’s post about the Samoan adoption scam.
• Here We Go Again: Madonna’s Adoption (April 1, 2009): about Madonna’s adoption of Mercy James from Malawi.
• Five Black Girls In Norfolk, VA Think a Pink Doll is Prettier (April 2, 2009): about a Good Morning America segment that showed kids choosing between a Black doll and a White doll.
• Madonna’s Expectations of Her Children Unhealthy (April 13, 2009): about Madonna’s attitude towards her adopted children.
• Black and White vs. White and Black (April 30, 2009): about a Newsweek article that profiled a white girl adopted by a black family.
• Birthmothers and Open Adoption In the News (May 31, 2009): about a few articles that involved birthmothers in open adoptions.
• International Adoption In the News (June 17, 2009): a few blurbs about recent activity in international adoption.
• Paying Girls Not to Get Pregnant (June 25, 2009): about a controversial program in which girls are given financial help if they don’t get pregnant.
• Suing Over Contact (June 29, 2009): about a birthmother who is suing the state’s Division of Youth and Family Services because the child she conceived through rape appeared on her doorstep.
• Just When You Thought It Was 2009 (July 8, 2009): about a club in Pennsylvania that kicked black day campers out of its pool, citing they would “change the complexion” of the club. (I also wrote a follow-up.)
• Another Reason Reform is Necessary (July 30, 2009): about an adoption scam in Florida.
• Literally Losing Your Child to Adoption (August 30, 2009): about a couple in China who lost their daughter, only to find that she had been adopted in the US.
• Shotgun Adoption (August 30, 2009): about a New Yorker piece that discusses unethical adoptions.
• Should Language Barriers Result in Removal? (August 30, 2009): about a woman who had her child removed because she didn’t speak English.
• A Newsweek Article on Race (September 7, 2009): Mandy’s post about the Newsweek feature that claimed babies as young as 6 months recognize race.
• When Cultures Collide (September 7, 2009): Mandy uses an article about a woman on trial for wearing pants to suggest how to talk to your children about their birth culture.
• A Sad Story + Two Warnings for Birthparents (September 14, 2009): about a birthmother who allegedly assaulted her newly found son.
• Food Crisis, Guatemala in a State of Calamity (September 24, 2009): about the Guatemalan food crisis and what you can do to help.
• No Returns or Exchanges, Adoption Is a Forever Choice (October 3, 2009): Courtney’s post about the Anita Tedaldi incident.
• A Woman Gave Her Adopted Child Back (October 4, 2009): my post about the Anita Tedaldi incident.
• Pay Attention to Your Inner Red Flags (October 13, 2009): an article about a Long Island adoption scam inspired a post about what adoptive parents should watch out for.
• Zahara’s Hair (October 15, 2009): about Angelina Jolie’s daughter Zahara and the obsession people have with her hair.
• Judge Isn’t Racist, But Won’t Marry Different-Race Couples (October 19, 2009): about the Louisiana judge who let black people use his bathroom, but wouldn’t marry a black person to a white person.
• What Other People Think About Adoption (October 19, 2009): about a New York Times article on IVF.
• US Department of State Submits Letter of Intent (December 6, 2009): about the status of adoption from Guatemala.
• Guatemala Pushes for DNA Tests for Kids Adopted in the US (December 8, 2009): about the ongoing effort to ensure ethical adoptions from Guatemala.
• Samoan Adoption Scandal (December 13, 2009): Courtney’s post about the Samoan Adoption Scandal.

Photo Credit.

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