International Adoptions: A Troubling Decrease?

“The suffering and deprivations of parentless children is a terrible tragedy that mocks our pretensions of progress toward international human rights. This suffering also undermines the needs and basic human dignity of our children and our aspirations for international social justice.” It is a no secret that parentless children are a vulnerable group, highly at-risk of psychological and behavioral issues. Historically, one solution to this issue has been international adoption, through which thousands of children have received the love and care which all children deserve. The United States is a major player in international adoptions, adopting more foreign children than the next thirteen major receiving countries combined. However, international adoptions to the United States have been in a freefall since 2004, exhibiting an 82% overall decrease. This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review website on November 11, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above