May 12, 2008
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The Candidates’ Positions
Hillary Clinton
U.S. Senator from New York.
Barack Obama

U.S. Senator from Illinois.
John Edwards
Former U.S. Senator from North Carolina.
Mike Gravel
Former U.S. Senator (AK)
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Fast Facts
  1. As reported in U.S. News & World Report in 2005, overseas adoptions in the United States numbered 22,884 in 2004, a sharp increase from 7,093 in 1990.
  2. Most states require that an unmarried father be registered before taking part in the decision to place a baby for adoption, according to The New York Times (March, 2006).
  3. In 2000, approximately 586,000 children in the United States lived in foster care. Of those, about 117,000 were awaiting adoption.
  4. In the United States, international adoption became common after the Korean War, when families began adopting South Korean children fathered by American soldiers.



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Adoption   

Adoption is the process of taking legal responsibility for the care and protection of a child that is not one's own by birth. More than 120,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. Adoption has been the subject of intense public debate in recent times over issues ranging from privacy to freedom of information to race and sexual orientation.

Adoption Overview

For much of the twentieth century, adoption was a practice shrouded in secrecy. Under what are now called "closed" adoptions, the identities of the birth parents and adoptive parents were kept from each other by the adoption agencies that made the arrangements. Adoptees were sometimes never told by their parents…>> (read more)

 

Adoption Points of View

Adoption Should Be Encouraged as an Alternative to Abortion and Single Parenthood
Prejudice Against Adoption and Adopted Families Should Be Challenged
Transracial Adoptions Can Be Beneficial
More Foster Children Should Be Placed in Adoptive Homes
Pregnant Women Should Not Be Coerced into Placing Their Children Up for Adoption
International Adoption Is Harmful and Exploitive
10  Transracial Adoption Should Not Be Encouraged
11  More Regulation of International Adoption Agencies Is Necessary
12  Federal Government Must Regulate Adoption
13  Adoption Workers Are Wrongly Biased in Favor of Gays and Lesbians
14  More Federal Regulation May Displace Small International Adoption Agencies
15  Government Regulations and Procedures for Adoption Are Too Cumbersome
16  Infant Adoption Should Be Deregulated
17  Arguments Against Opening Adoption Records Are Spurious
18  Right of Adoptees to Access Their Personal Information Should Be Unconditional
19  Voluntary Registries Are an Inadequate Substitute for Open Records Laws
20  Opening Adoption and Birth Records Violates the Privacy Rights of Birth Mothers
21  Removing Privacy Protections Will Threaten the Future of Infant Adoption
22  Voluntary Registry System Is Preferable to Open Records Laws
23  Sexual Orientation Should Not Be a Barrier to Adoption
24  Restrictions on Gay and Lesbian Adoptions Are Unconstitutional
25  Legalizing Gay Adoptions Will Strengthen and Stabilize Families
26  Restrictions on Gay and Lesbian Adoption Are Not Unconstitutional
 
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Adoption in the News

Little Claudia Maria, born April 15, 2007, awaits adoption in Guatemala City. It is simply easy for anyone to gush or marvel at this cutie posted at www.adopting.com in…>> (read more)

Directions: Read the article "Right at Home" (page 22). Then answer the questions below.

Part 1

1. What are some circumstances that can lead to…>> (read more)

Byline: Reyhan Harmanci; Chronicle Staff Writer

San Rafael real estate agent Lo Mei Seh was shocked when she saw a theatrical trailer for the hit movie "Juno"…>> (read more)


Read More Articles on Adoption
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Adoption Statistics