Babies for sale

A Tennessee woman recently ‘returned’ her adopted Russian son, shining an unflattering spotlight on foreign adoption

Angelina Jolie with her adopted son, Maddox.
(Image credit: Getty)

How does international adoption work?

It’s governed by a patchwork of local, national, and international rules, which makes the system vulnerable to abuse and corruption. Working through an array of international and private agencies, U.S. families adopted 13,000 foreign-born children last year—more than the rest of the world combined. Many of these adoptions go smoothly, and result in thrilled new parents and in children whose futures are immeasurably brighter than they would have been otherwise. But international adoption can also be a legal no-man’s land, in which prospective parents shell out tens of thousands of dollars only to be subject to delays, uncertainties, and demands for more money. The demand for foreign-born children by childless American couples has opened the door to some truly horrific abuses, including bribery, kidnapping, and the selling of babies.

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