news: "Adapting to foreign adoptions"

via. [I'm kind of surprised something of this low quality would come out of Christian Science Monitor!]

Interesting. I'm not sure if adoption should indeed be made cheaper and easier. Even with safeguards in place that prevent adoption from being a for-profit industry, it's still..hmm. I guess it stems from my notion that people don't have the natural, intrinsic right to be parents; to reproduce, now that is certainly a "right," it is a biological necessity. However, I see little point in a women who is capable of reproduction being allowed to adopt; moreover, if a women is sterile, well, that shouldn't be a child's problem. Having bad genes simply means that you won't be contributing to the gene pool. Of course, that's most certainly a political nonreality, at least in America. I still favor what others have said - that a feminist agenda toward the welfare of mothers and children - especially baby girls - is the best approach (domestic adoption is plan B).

H.R. 3070 Families for Orphans Act of 2009

I was going to write a bit about this bill, but just read this instead.

news: Most 'orphans' have a living parent, says charity

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8375579.stm

oh! - statistics

Trenka posts some stuff here.


source: TRACK http://justicespeaking.wordpress.com/2009/10/02/domestic-vs-overseas-korean-adoption/

I did the percentages for the domestic column:

domestic adoptions (% of total adoptions)
1999: 1726 (41.74%)
2000: 1686 (41.67%)
2001: 1770 (42.08%)
2002: 1964 (45.36%)
2003: 1564 (40.61%)
2004: 1641 (42.08%)
2005: 1461 (41.01%)
2006: 1332 (41.22%)
2007: 1388 (52.33%)
2008: 1306 (51.09%)

I can't really draw causality between lots of publicity on part of TRACK and others in Korea this year and the 1.3% decrease in domestic adoption out of total adoptions. It doesn't necessarily conclude that the activism isn't working per se...there are just other factors which are out of the political reach of such activism. What I'm interested in now is the huge 10% jump in 2007. What was that?! A widely read book? Movie? Interesting condition probably.

news: Massachusetts woman found with baby cut from womb held on $500,000 bail in kidnap case

via

news: Elton John wants to adopt a boy

via

news: Mother of abandoned baby sought

via BBC

Keep your eyes open for a follow-up story later.