As of now, I am not sure exactly where I
stand in favor of open adoptions or closed adoptions. Both sides have very good
argument to why someone would consider open or closed adoptions. Open adoption
is good for staying in contact with the adoptive parents and the child. This
includes phone calls, face to face visits, and sending letters or pictures to
the biological parents. A closed adoption is good for privacy purpose so there
would be no contact prior or after the placement of the child. There is many
more reason but this is just a few.
I suppose it all depends on the situation
that I am countering if I want to settle for open or closed adoptions. There
are many variables that can affect in the decision of open or closed adoption; an
ethical concern with open adoption is “Ethical concerns include the limits of
birth parents’ responsibilities to provide information about their health,
genes, and families to adoptive families” (Allen, pg. 49). What if the
biological parent does not feel comfortable telling that information to the
adoptive family, are they obligated to do so? Overall, it should in the best
interest of the child. It is all about the child, and not the biological or
adoptive parents, such as filling emotional needs. A good example of this would
be the guest speaker, Mary, said that after being contacted by her birthmother
she was so needy and emotional (not using the direct wording from speaker). In that
case, it should be a closed adoption because that can interfere with an
individual how he or she live there life. Furthermore, I think open or close
adoption need some improvement in both areas because neither is concrete in the
position they stand at the moment but setting guidelines and keeping them is
probably the best way to go.
Chia C.
Blog Post Reply #5:
ReplyDeleteChia, at the moment I am also standing in the same boat with you: not so sure. However, by reading through some individual's post and reading replies from others I think I am slowly walking onto the open adoption side.
I definitely understand where you are coming from in regards to open adoption for certain situations. But when I think about it, why are certain individuals given that privacy right? Or why are individuals given help by the law to hide a secret? In my opinion, honesty plays a big role in all relationship. From Pertman's reading, Dr. Troxler (p. 100) did not know he was adopted. That affected him negatively, but then again, what if either of his biological parent's families did not know of him? Not only are they (the parents) emotionally hurt but everyone associated to them. So I question, why lie or try to keep this as a secret when we already know the consequences to them? Ethically, wouldn't we as individuals want to be true to others and ourselves?
-Brenda X.
Blog Post Reply 5 - Jen D.
ReplyDeleteChia,
It seems like a lot of people agree with your stance, including myself. There are so many factors that go into the successfulness of either option, closed or open. Because of the nature of how significant the decision is, I believe that all aspects should be included.
I get stuck on doing what's right for the child. At that point, the child has no voice in the matter. But later on, like in Mary's case, it can greatly affect them negatively or positive depending on their birth parents' stability.
I think you were right in including the idea of the birth parents' right to provide information or not. I think my main concern is making sure that the parent is most comfortable with the situation, to avoid them either having an abortion or trying to take care of a child they aren't fit to. If the mother only wants to do adoption knowing they will be able to move on, then they should be given that right. If they want to be included after the adoption, then that should be their right as well.
At the end of the day, you make a great statement that both areas should be improved. I think it's a good idea to spend more time thinking about improving multiple options rather than deciding one that is right.