Adoption In China example essay topic

I watched the video clip presented by Laura A. Cece re entitled, "Saving Girls' Lives: International Adoptions from China". Chinese adoptions help families in many ways. Over the decades, the idea of adoption has changed. Having many children used to be a sign of virtue.

The more offspring you have, the more successful you are, because it takes more money. If someone wanted to adopt, the adoption had to take place through your extended family. A son also equaled social security. When a child was put up for adoption in China, the family who was "giving" had to give a bearing cost to the "receiving" family. From 1891-1920, 74% of all females were adopted.

More than half of this percentage were under the age of six months. Many people wanted to adopt girls to raise them as future daughter-in-laws. In some cases, the girls would eventually end up commiting suicide because they did not want to marry their brother. These girls were usually beaten, molested, abused, neglected, and had less schooling and a high mortality rate. The adoptive parents did not want to spend the money or the time on these girls because she would end up being "given away" to her husbands' family. When going through the Chinese adoption process now, one must sign a letter of oath stating that one must care for the children lovingly.

A major reason that the Chinese have expanded their adoption locations to foreigners is because China is in an economic boom. They would rather work more and make more money rather than having children to pay for. In addition, it was "popular" for many parents to abandon there child and another couple would find the baby, take care of it, and love it... During a war between China and Japan, more that 2100 Japanese children were left abandoned. The Chinese gladly took all of these children and took care of them. Eventually, they found homes for these children.

People usually abandon girls because families want a son. They are okay with females, but they try for males. This is so because of money reasons. They also abandon girls because of industrialization, and children get lost. Another reason is that if a woman's husband passes away, and she remarries, the new husband will probably not want to take care of another man's children. In 1992, the first adoption law came into effect in China.

This law allowed singles and married couples adopt, people over the age of 30 and foreigners (from 13 countries) who had good health, a decent record, who were approved by the INS, and who were approved by a social worker. The US adopts 85% of China's children who are up for adoption (5000). The US is drawn to China because: the children are healthy, well adjusted, and happy, the process is reliable and honest, they have a short waiting period (8 months), the US are accepting to stereotypes, they are open to older and for singles, the birth parents are not traceable, you can get a girl, to save the children, cultural appeal, and because of strong network of families.