Dec 20th, 2006
End of the Trend
The New York Times reports new restrictions on people interested in adopting from China. Apparently, the Chinese Center for Adoption Affairs can afford to be picky since they are getting more requests than there are babies available.
China Tightens Adoption Rules for Foreigners
By Pam Belluck and Jim Yardley
Published: December 20, 2006
(registration required)
Which hopeful prospective parents will no longer be considered as of May 2007? Older people, those divorced more than once, those with a body mass index of over 40, anyone on anxiety or anti-depressant medication, anyone with physical disabilities, and those who are not married.
Oddly, not a peep from the Times about what this means for lesbian parents-to-be. China being one of the few countries that until now has allowed single women to adopt, has been, obviously, a popular option for lesbians. As I learned from my consulting work with adoption agencies, China will not place children with gay parents, per se, but if only half of a couple fills out the paperwork and arrives to pick up the child, it is not revealed that the “single parent” is gay.
Single parent adoption in China has been a loop-hole for years for lesbian mothers. One family I know went on a return trip to the daughter’s orphanage when she was a teenager, but only one of her parents could accompany her. When she showed pictures and talked about her life in the U.S., she knew she could only refer to her other mother as a “family friend.” Her family understood that to be out as a lesbian-parented family would awaken an unspoken awareness in the orphanage, and potentially jeopardize the placement of children with “single” mothers in the future.
The Times was careless to offer a rundown of personal stories about who is affected by these restrictions without mention of lesbians. The deeper question is: how much of the ban on singles is directly related to efforts to prevent placement with lesbians?