An underlying question is whether adoption-related abuses are isolated or endemic. In impoverished, war-torn countries, there are few judicial or sociological resources to generate data for a solid answer. It s often impossible, by the same token, to guarantee a baby or orphan wasn t taken from the birthmother against her will. Other troubling questions arise in comparing the fate of a child adopted into the United States with the fate of an orphan remaining in Latin America. It s ironic that Casa Alianza, one of the most vocal critics of international adoption, is also one of the most passionate defenders of Central American homeless children.
Some visitors are adoptive parents or close to families with internationally adopted kids.
Others question the ethics of adopting from a war-torn country such as Guatemala or Colombia. And many have experience with adoptions of U.S.-born children, a process fraught with its own difficult issues of race, class and identity. The perspectives don t correspond neatly to left-right political lines. The organization seeks only to illuminate the complexity and promote a constructive discussion. E-mail up to 300 words to the editor .