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Choosing China
There are many reasons why we chose to adopt from China; most
of them not as altruistic as you might think. There are
children all around the world, including within the United
States, who need homes. We specifically felt a call to adopt
from China for a number of reasons:
1) We wanted to adopt a little girl. Everyone, of course, is
aware of the one-child policy in China, which has caused the
abandonment of untold thousands of female infants over the
last two decades. Beginning in the early 1990s, China opened
its doors to allow the international community to adopt some
of these abandoned girls, lessening the problem. (There isn’t
room for a full discussion here, but it is important to
understand that the Chinese DO value their female offspring.
See Janie for a full discussion!)
2) We did not want to “take” an American, Caucasian baby from
a couple who was unable to have a child of their own and
wanted to adopt a newborn here in the U.S. The number of
couples wanting to adopt a white newborn is exceptionally
high. We did not want to be in the midst of that
competition! We also were not interested in a young infant.
Children in China have to be at least six months old before
they are classified as adoptable. Remembering the exhaustion
of newborns, we were most interested in adopting a child
between the ages of 12 and 36 months.
3) There is an emotional and legal risk that comes with
adopting in the U.S. (birth parents changing their minds, open
vs. closed adoptions, court issues, etc.). We were hoping to
avoid that if possible. With China, once your dossier has
been accepted by the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA),
you will receive a child. There is no changing minds at the
last minute.
4) We wanted our biological children to understand that there
is a bigger world than the white, suburbanite society that we
live in. Although JacJac of course will be raised as an
American, our family will, by default, become part Chinese.
We look forward to embracing this new part of our heritage!
5) There is no bribery involved in the Chinese adoption
process, unlike some other countries. We knew from the
beginning how much the adoption would cost, and it did not
change from that amount. (For those who are interested but too
polite to ask, it costs about $15000 total: $5000 in U.S.
agency and paperwork fees, $4000 in fees for China (including
a $3000 donation to the orphanage) and about $6000 for the 2
week trip to China to get her). The exciting news is that
there is now an $11,000 tax credit for adoption so we will get
about 2/3 of our money back!)
6) Finally, we have been blessed with so much and we wanted to
share it with a child that might not otherwise have much of a
chance. Quality of life here in the U.S. is much higher than
what can be provided for a child within the Chinese orphanage
system.
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