Fewer Foreign Adoptions in U.S.

Foreign adoptions in U.S. drop in 2006

After tripling over the past 15 years, the number of foreign children adopted by Americans dropped sharply in 2006, the result of multiple factors which have jolted adoption advocates and prompted many would-be adoptive parents to reconsider their options.

The consequences could be profound for the ever-growing numbers of Americans interested in adopting abroad. Already, some have had their hopes quashed by tightened eligibility rules in China; adoptions from Africa, where millions of children have been orphaned by AIDS and wars, could increase if those from China and Eastern Europe continue to decrease...

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Don't tell that to Roland Martin or Solangel Maldonado. They think we're all racists for choosing China and wouldn't even consider Africa if China continues to decrease.

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The number of orphans and abandoned babies in China remains substantial, though authorities say it is dwindling. About 51,000 were adopted in 2005, according to the government — 13,000 by foreign families, the rest in China.

Professor Li Luxin, deputy secretary general of the China Association for Juvenile Studies, said domestic adoptions will surely increase.

"More families are well-off," he said. "They own apartments and cars and it is a way for them to repay society by adopting an orphan."

So about 38,000 children were adopted domestically in China in 2005. That still leaves many thousands of children in orphanages and foster care.

The president of one of America's largest China-oriented adoption agencies, Joshua Zhong of Colorado-based Chinese Children Adoption International, said China's new restrictions were in line with those of many other countries, and he predicted China would remain the top choice for Americans seeking to adopt.

However, he hopes democratic reforms will occur in China that shrink the pool of abandoned children.

"I'm praying to be out of a job as soon as possible," said Zhong, a one-time child member of the Red Guard who came to the United States in 1986. "I want to see a China where no one will be abandoned."

What a selfless guy. I concur.