Stolen and Sold

Imagine finding out your adopted child had been stolen and sold to an orphanage, and was not willingly relinquished by his/her birthparents.

I recently blogged about Love Our Way, the story of an Australian family who found themselves in this heartbreaking situation. The situation is devastating, but thankfully the outcome for this family and the birthmother has been positive.

Last week, ABC's Foreign Correspondent program ran a documentary about this family's story. Please take the time to watch it (27 mins). We need these issues to be exposed. We need increased awareness. We cannot afford to be naïve when it comes to adoption ethics.

China has had its fair share of child trafficking issues. If you've been around China adoption for a while, you'll remember the Hunan scandal in 2005. It's a conundrum; many orphanages pay a 'finders fee' when abandoned children are handed over. This encourages trafficking and kidnapping. In a developing nation where child abandonment is not uncommon, without an incentive program such as finders fees there is little hope for genuinely abandoned babies.