Adoption is a process in which children legally disassociate from their birthparents, while enduring various emotional and social aspects to become permanent members of different family. Intrinsically, adoption concerns and affects the rights of three distinct “triad members,” the child, the birth parents, and the adoptive parents. Adoption is inherently a lifelong process, which involves numerous ethical issues throughout the course of the journey. At any point, adopted children may decide to learn more about their background, genetic and historical identity. As such, ethical issues shift and converge over time as adopted children become adults. Most importantly, adoptions typically involve minor children, which is why it is imperative that professionals working in the field act with ethical integrity and appropriateness to safeguard the rights of all parties involved during the entire process.
Once adoption becomes a consideration for birthparents, ethical issues present themselves immediately regarding recruitment, preparation, and screening of adoptive parents. Caseworkers, supervisors, and other staff are generally guided by an overarching set of ethical standards to inform their decision-making and conduct when working with children, youth, and families. Relationships with clients and colleagues are based on mutual respect, commitment, and honesty, and take into consideration cultural differences and the right to privacy. Many ethical considerations carry tremendous weight throughout the decision-making process for all parties involved with the adoption.
Professionals that assist birthparents initially, with either willful relinquishment or involuntary termination of parental rights, must make sure such abdication is genuinely voluntary and not coerced. They must also ensure all ethical standards and procedures are complied with in the termination of parental rights proceedings. According to ethical adoptive family recruitment, and the extent allowed by law, it is required that accurate information about a child’s background is revealed from the beginning. The first step being an initial introduction of limited scope, continuing with full disclosure of obtainable, material information prior to a family’s final decision to adopt. Principled concerns regarding truthfulness and disclosure with initial aspects of the process are crucial in determining the overall success of an adoption.
Not only are ethics important prior to a finalized adoption, such matters are also critical to observe and exercise after the fact. Most commonly, this revolves around the birth parents’ right to privacy and an adopted person’s ambition to learn their history. This often requires a delicate balance of privacy, admission and discovery, and can be achieved if all parties cooperate and respect the rights and relationships amongst one another.
Unique ethical issues also present themselves with different types of adoption. For example, with international adoptions, there are ethical concerns about potential coercion of birth families, or the buying or kidnapping of children. Primary concerns rest with Western money offered in large amounts to poor governments that carry out corrupt adoption practices with unscrupulous intermediaries to buy, coerce, or kidnap children from their birth families, who would have otherwise raised them to adulthood. Adoptions by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families, as well as trans-racial or trans-cultural adoption also give rise to numerous ethical concerns and discussions. Due to the legal complexity of such categories, the process and practices are governed by Federal legislation, including the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Multiethnic Placement Act, and As Amended (MEPA), to name a few. No matter the type of adoption, ethical issues are prevalent every step of the way, and must be considered and addressed by those involved throughout the undertaking.
If you live in Kansas and are seeking legal advise on how to adopt a child or the steps involved throughout the process, call McDowell Chartered legal services at 316-269-0746 for more information about how to get started today!