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Are celebrity adoptions helping or hurting international adoption relations?

Results so far:

Helping		56%	120 votes	Total: 215 votes
Hurting		44%	95 votes	Total: 215 votes

Helping

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Adoption is a means by which people can alleviate or reduce the poverty that is affecting the world today. Would the world rather have one more child going to bed without food each night or can the world accept adoption as a way of avoiding a plight that is affecting millions of people over the world? Yes, adoptions including celebrity adoption do help international adoption relations. A celebrity adoption should not be viewed differently to any other adoption. Celebrities are human beings just like all of us, being Angelina Jolie or Madonna does not make them more or less human.

It will be hard to give the impression that adoption can have a negative effect on international adoption relations. As witnessed recently, there is a trend of celebrities adopting children from developing or third world countries. The standards of living in these countries are usually very poor and many families affected by poverty usually live on less than one United States dollar a day. These countries also seem to have a high number of orphans that they cannot afford to care for. To add to all these problems, adoptions by citizens of developing countries are usually not popular because the people are generally not well off economically. In many cases, authorities in countries where children are being adopted are usually happy with the fact that they will be spending on one less child and the adopted child will live in a loving environment. Adoptions, be it by celebrities or by ordinary people will most likely strengthen or help international adoption relations.

The issue that usually causes problems should be blamed purely on the adoption agencies or authorities in countries where the children are being adopted. What often comes to light after the adoption, is the fact that the parents of the adopted children did not really agree on the adoption, that is in cases where the children have biological parents. This is indeed a disturbing factor and an issue that the country where children are being adopted should deal with and try to address. There has to be proper, adequate and appropriate processes in place that need to be followed before a child can be adopted.

For example, when Madonna adopted her child, David from Malawi, reports surfaced that the biological father of the adopted child did not really understand what adoption was. The father did not really understand that he will never see his little boy again. If true, that is a disturbing and a sad fact indeed and it is the duty of the authorities in the countries where the children are being adopted to ensure that the biological parents or guardians understand the process very well. The same issue also surfaced with Angelina Jolie's adoption of the little girl she adopted from Ethiopia, Zahara. Biological parents should be informed of the consequences of putting up a child for adoption and this responsibility should clearly be put on the shoulders of authorities in which the adoption occurs. When celebrities adopt, they sorely rely on the information being given to them by authorities in countries they are adopting and it's fair to say that the reliance is justifiable given the fact that they do not live in the country.

Celebrities like anyone else, need to ensure that they make use of reputable adoption agencies. This is an issue that should be handled with care and due diligence. Adoption, be it by a celebrity or any other person is a good way of removing one child at a time away from poverty. International adoption is a way of improving relations between two countries while impacting the world positively.

Learn more about this author, Selaelo Ramokgopa.
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Hurting

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by Y Tian

Celebrity adoptions seem to the flavour of the month. With Hollywood stars including Madonna and Meg Ryan joining the infamous list of proud parents of adopted children, controversy surrounding this "adoption fever" is at an all time high. Some see celebrity adoptions as a great way of giving some children a second chance at life as well as bringing public awareness to the poverty of third-world countries. However, others point to the stars' erratic behaviours, partying lifestyle and the message of "money buys all" as reasons why celebrities should not be allowed to adopt kids. So, at the end of the day, are celebrity adoptions helping international adoption relations?

I don't think so.

Firstly, it is undeniable that celebrity adoptions are great at bringing public awareness to the children suffering in poverty-stricken countries. With power, influence and, of course, money and resources, celebrities are more than capable of supporting an adopted child. For example, it is public knowledge that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have hired one nanny for every single one of their kids, three of which are adopted. With this type of constant monitoring and care along with an endless supply of toys and gifts, these children have definitely been given a second chance at life. After all, these children were living in horrible conditions and could have possibly starved to death or died from any of the numerous diseases that still prevail in third-world countries. Even if their celebrity parent's didn't love them or give them enough attention, they would have been living in a life that was much more superior to their previous one and possibly even better than most of the kids growing up in a normal modest family in developed nations. They have literally been "saved."

However, we must wonder why are these celebrities suddenly adopting kids left, right and centre? One couldn't help comparing images of Brangelina with their large horde of children and someone like Paris Hilton clutching a dog in her handbag. Are both simply fashion statements or public stunts?

Think back to 2005 when America was eyeing at Angelina with suspicion over the public scandals with Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, how did she divert the anger away from her? She adopted an Ethiopian baby Zahara. At that time, I was thinking: one kid, great. Two kids, she obviously cares. But three? And looking for one more? Not even normal families have that many biological children, which brings me to the next problem, normal families wanting to adopt.

There are possibly hundreds of normal ordinary couples out there who want to adopt because either they can't have children or simply out of the generosity of their hearts. Yet they have to go through many applications, procedural checks and often get knocked back whereas celebrities can simply waltz into a country, throw a couple of millions of dollars around and choose a kid to adopt as if picking a pet from the local pet shop. It hardly seems fair that celebrities, simply due to their fame and money, can cut the queue. This message of "money buys all" is a message that does not help international adoption relations. Would you trust a child with celebrities that frequently indulges in alcohol and scandals or with the childless couple next door? I think the answer is pretty obvious.

In the end, I admit that there are some celebrities out there who adopt out simply because they want to help but at the same time, others are probably doing it just for more fame. Children, regardless of their origin, race and gender, deserve unconditional love something that money can't buy.

Learn more about this author, Y Tian.
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