I hate titles like the one this article has, "Did I Steal My Daughter? The Tribulations of Global Adoptions".

But, despite the sensational title, I think this is a pretty decent article.

The article is written by an adoptive mother, who, along with her husband, adopted a baby girl from Guatemala. The article goes through the family's emotions and thoughts before their daughter joined them, their thoughts and experiences during the placement and then their emotions, thoughts and developing concerns once they brought their daughter home.

Do adoptive families have the right to search for their child's birth parent(s)?

What are the risks of seeking contact with an adopted child's birth parent(s)?

What are the risks of not seeking contact?

Do all children who are available for adoption truly need "new" families?

How often is a lack of information a cover up for unethical practices?

Do parents who relinquish their children for international adoption truly understand what they are doing and do they truly want to place their children for adoption?

Do American adoptive parents really choose international adoption so they don't have to "deal" with birth parents? (ICK ICK ICK)

All of these questions and more are addressed in this article, as are many of the emotional complexities involved in international, transracial adoption.

As the story of this family unfolds, the family is reunited in Guatemala with their daughter's birth mother. A relationship of love is formed, fears are quieted, questions are answered and a little girl ends up with two mothers in her life that love her more than words can say.

I think this article does a good job of taking an in-depth look at some of the very difficult emotional issues, ethical issues and questions surrounding international adoption.

It is an important reminder to adoptive parents that the issues involved in adoption are rarely "black and white" and that there is a whole lot of "gray area" in the middle. It is also an important reminder that corruption in adoption is very real and something adoptive parents have a responsibility to fight against. As I wrote in this post:

It is also important to remember that when you are looking at a typical international adoption in which a child is being relinquished, you have a family often suffering from extreme poverty (and often also illness), a child (or children), a family who desperately wants a child or children, quite a few middlemen, and a large amount of money. When you take a step back and look at it that way, it is not hard to see how easily the situation can be taken advantage of.

Being aware of the risks can help adoptive parents avoid them, and I hope that by reading this article, adoptive parents who may have concerns similar to this family's, can have the courage to act on them instead of living with fears and doubts.

While this article tells the story of a family who adopted from Guatemala, it applies to families adopting from almost anywhere. Give it a read, and make sure you read all three pages.

I read this article in the Adoptionweek E-magazine. If you would like to subscribe to this free online adoption magazine, you can visit Adoptionweek here.