LEADING ARTICLE
Adoption
Intercountry adoption
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Mary Mather
Bexley Care Trust, 221 Erith Road, Bexleyheath, Kent DA7 6HZ, UK; marymather@bexley.nhs.uk
Accepted 5 February 2007
More research is needed on the long-term outcomes of children adopted from other countries
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Celebrity adoption was one of the media sensations of 2006, the year every British newspaper suddenly had an opinion about intercountry adoption. What some praised as the altruistic rescue of a child from poverty and early death, others criticised as an adult-driven, largely commercial transaction. Few editorials considered the consequences for the child growing up in a "rainbow family" far from home or the plight of those children for whom rescue was not an option.
Unlike newspaper editors, paediatricians instinctively support policies that are in the best interests of children. However, forming an opinion about intercountry adoption can be an ethical minefield. While adopters are often driven by humanitarian motives, the children they crave are potentially very saleable items in unscrupulous hands. Few would wish to insult the good intentions of adoptive parents. However, it would be naive to deny that corruption and criminality can exploit the desperation of
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