Thank you! Naomi ---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 15:20:15 -0400 >From: "Guggenheim, Martin" <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: [AALSChildLaw] [Fwd: Support Child Rights & International Adoption - Sign On Now] >To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>,"Association of American Law Schools' Section on Children and the Law" <[log in to unmask]> > > Before anyone signs this, they should take a look at > the attached article. > > Marty > > > > From: [log in to unmask] > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On > Behalf Of Odeana R. Neal > Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 2:51 PM > To: Section on Minority Groups; > [log in to unmask] > Subject: [AALSChildLaw] [Fwd: Support Child Rights & > International Adoption - Sign On Now] > > > > I received this e-mail this morning. I'm not sure > where the push for this is coming from right now, > but I am at a minimum ambivalent about international > adoption policies and at most view them as a kind of > genocide. I wonder whether anyone is aware of > advocacy groups that are coming out with > counter-proposals. > > -- Odeana > -------- Original Message -------- > > Subject: Support Child Rights & International > Adoption - Sign On Now > Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 10:05:08 -0400 (EDT) > From: Harvard Law Prof Bartholet > <[log in to unmask]> > Reply-To: [log in to unmask] > To: [log in to unmask] > >Having trouble viewing this email? Click here > > > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >PLEASE JOIN US IN ENDORSING THIS > >INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION POLICY STATEMENT > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Dear Law Faculty Members and Child Rights Supporters: > > > >We write to urge you to join us in supporting the >International Adoption Policy Statement reprinted below. >We hope to obtain significant support for this Policy >Statement from Faculty members in Law Schools and >Universities in the U.S. and throughout the world >specializing in Family, Child, Civil Rights and Human >Rights Law, and from related legal professionals. We >believe that such support will make a difference in the >policy debate now surrounding International Adoption. > > > >As you may know, International Adoption is in crisis, with >the numbers down significantly during each of the past >four years, after steadily rising during the prior six >decades. This is not because of any decline in unparented >children; there continue to be many millions of children >in desperate need of nurturing homes, most of whom are now >growing up in terribly inadequate institutions or on the >streets. Instead the reduction in International Adoption >numbers is largely because of opposition by organizations >and individuals alleging that they speak for the human >rights of children. They call for restrictions on >International Adoption that include temporary and >permanent moratoria on such adoption, preferences for >in-country foster and institutional care over >out-of-country adoption, "holding periods" that require >searching for in-country homes for months or years before >out-of-country placement is permitted, and the elimination >of the private adoption intermediaries that often serve as >the lifeblood of International Adoption. They seek to >severely limit International Adoption to last resort >status. We believe that International Adoption generally >serves the interests of children who cannot be raised by >their birth parents better than non-adoption alternatives >like foster and institutional care. We believe that >International Adoption should be kept on the table as one >of the options to serve the needs of unparented children >worldwide. > > > >This International Adoption Policy Statement, along with >its Supporting Report, has so far been endorsed by the >Center for Adoption Policy, the Harvard Law School Child >Advocacy Program, the National Council for Adoption, and >the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. To see the >six-page Supporting Report, click here. Competing views >on the policy and legal issues are presented in treaties >and authorities cited in that Report's footnotes 1-3. A >related Recommendation on International Adoption has been >adopted by the American Bar Association (ABA) House of >Delegates. To compare, click here for ABA Recommendation. > > >We urge you to join us in endorsing as individual Faculty >members the International Policy Statement reprinted >below. TO DO SO YOU NEED SIMPLY PROVIDE YOUR NAME AND >AFFILIATION HERE. PLEASE DO THIS BY TUES, MAY 26. We >hope to go public with the full list of endorsements >shortly after that date. Click here to view the list of >the endorsing organizations and individuals, which will be >updated regularly. > > > >Please email either Elizabeth Bartholet or Mary Welstead >with any questions and any suggestions you may have for >related action. > > > >Please also forward this message to anyone you think might >be interested in joining us in this effort. > > > > > >Ralph Richard Banks Janet Halley >Jackson Eli Reynolds Royall Professor of Law >Professor of Law Harvard Law School >Stanford Law School Joan Heifetz Hollinger >Paulo Barrozo Professor, Lecturer-in-Residence >Harvard University School of Law >Graduate Program and University of California, Berkeley >Assistant Professor of David Kennedy >Law Vice President for International >Boston College Law Affairs >School Interim Director, Watson Institute >Elizabeth Bartholet for International Studies >Morris Wasserstein University Professor of Law >Professor of Law David and Marianna Fisher Univ. >Faculty Director, Child Prof.of International Relations >Advocacy Program Brown University >Harvard Law School Director, European Law Research >Katharine T. Bartlett Center >A. Kenneth Pye Harvard Law School >Professor of Law Randall L. Kennedy >Duke University School Michael R. Klein Professor of Law >of Law Harvard Law School >Kathryn Bradley Michael Meltsner >Senior Lecturing Fellow Matthews Distinguished University >Director of Legal Professor of Law >Ethics Northeastern Univ. School of Law >Duke Law School David D. Meyer >Margaret F. Brinig Assoc. Dean for Academic Affairs >Fritz Duda Family and Professor of Law >Professor of Law University of Illinois College of >University of Notre Law >Dame Martha Minow >Jessica Budnitz Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of >Lecturer on Law, Law >Managing Director Harvard Law School >Child Advocacy Program Henry J. Steiner >Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus >Richard Carlson Harvard Law School >Professor of Law Joseph Vining >South Texas College of Hutchins Professor of Law >Law University of Michigan Law School >James L. Cavallaro Lynn D. Wardle >Clinical Professor of Bruce C. Hafen Professor of Law >Law, Harvard Law School Brigham Young University >Executive Director, Mary Welstead >Human Rights Program Visiting Professor in Law, Univ. >David Chambers Buckingham, U.K. >Wade H. McCree, Jr., Visiting Fellow, Child Advocacy >Collegiate Professor, Program >Emeritus Harvard Law School >Univ. of Michigan Law >School >Brenda Cossman >Professor of Law >Univ. of Toronto Law >School >James Dwyer >Professor of Law >William & Mary Law >School > > > > > >INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION POLICY STATEMENT > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > > >International Adoption should be an integral part of a >comprehensive strategy to address the problems of >unparented children, together with the development of >better temporary care for children pending permanent >placement, the development of in-country adoption and >other truly permanent nurturing placement options, and the >provision of social services to parents so that they can >keep and nurture their children. > > > >International Adoption is consistent with other positive >social responses to the problems of unparented children, >bringing new resources into poor countries to support such >efforts, and developing new awareness of and concern for >the plight of poor children and poor communities >worldwide. > > > >Adoption, whether domestic or international, generally >serves children's interests better than any form of >state-sponsored care, whether that be foster care or >institutionalization, although there will always be >exceptions to this general rule, including for example >situations in which placement of a child in a permanent, >nurturing kinship foster care situation will be preferable >for that specific child to adoption. > > > >Children whose original parents cannot provide permanent >nurturing care should generally be placed as soon as >possible in a permanent adoptive home, whether domestic or >international. > > > >Efforts should be made to identify in a timely way all >unparented children and to promptly free for adoption all >children who cannot or should not be reunited with their >birth parents in the near future, and for whom there is no >other preferable permanent parenting solution immediately >available. > > > >Children free for adoption should be placed as soon as >possible in appropriately screened adoptive homes, whether >domestic or international: no children should be held >whether in foster care or institutions for any period of >time for the purpose of placing them in-country; any >in-country preference should be implemented through a >concurrent planning strategy, planning simultaneously for >both domestic and international adoption, and preferring >domestic adoption only if it will involve no delay in >placement for the child. > > > >International Adoption should not be made more difficult >for parents to accomplish than domestic adoption; given >the inherent difficulties posed by adopting in a different >country, efforts should be made to coordinate the adoption >systems and related laws and policies of sending and >receiving countries to reduce these inherent difficulties >and make the international adoption process more >comparable to the domestic process from the viewpoint of >adoptive parents. > > > >Adoption abuses, such as kidnapping and baby selling >(defined as payments to birth parents designed to induce >them to surrender their child and their parenting rights), >should be dealt with by enforcing the laws prohibiting >such practices, and where needed developing new laws and >policies to discourage such practices, without unduly >restricting the placement of unparented children in >domestic or international adoption, and without unduly >limiting the private agencies and other adoption >intermediaries that facilitate such adoption. >To endorse this Policy Statement, click HERE. > > > >Forward email > >Safe Unsubscribe > >This email was sent to [log in to unmask] by Email Marketing >[log in to unmask] by > >Update Profile/Email Address | Instant [IMG] >removal with SafeUnsubscribe(TM) | Privacy >Policy. > >Child Advocacy Program | Harvard Law School | Cambridge | >MA | 02138 > > -- > > Odeana R. Neal > > Associate Professor > > University of Baltimore School of Law > > 1420 N. Charles Street > > Baltimore, MD 21201-5779 > > > > 410-837-4644 (voice) > > 410-333-3053 (fax) > > OdeanaNeal (AIM) > > > > "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." > > ~ John Wooden ~ >________________ >bartholet international adoption critique.pdf (372k bytes) >________________ >_______________________________________________ >AALSChildLaw mailing list >[log in to unmask] >http://lists.ubalt.edu/mailman/listinfo/aalschildlaw > >This email was sent using the University of Baltimore mailing list system. Messages sent via a University of Baltimore mailing do not necessarily represent the opinion of the University. Professor Naomi Cahn John Theodore Fey Research Professor of Law GWU Law School (202)994-6025