[Back]

Adoption

In basic terms, adoption is when a child's custody is given to a person or two people that aren't the biological parents of that child.

Adoption permanently negates the biological parent or parents from any responsibility of that child for the rest of its life. The person or people that adopted the child gain full custodial rights and there isn't really a difference between biological and adoptive parents in the eyes of the law.

There are many different types of adoption that include open adoption, semi-open adoption, and closed adoption.

An open adoption is when custody is given to non-biological parents but the biological parents are entitled to visits, letters, or other forms of contact.

The arrangements vary and can be very lenient or restrictive depending on the situation. A semi-open adoption gives the biological parents a chance to meet the adoptive parents a few times.

This lets them have the option of choosing an open or closed adoption at a later date. A closed adoption only gives the adoptive parents medical records but not much else. Little is ever known about the biological parents. This can be due to governmental agencies placing the children due to an unhealthy environment or abuse.

Many issues can contribute to a child being put up for adoption. Some of the most common issues are when a mother knows she cannot take care of her child or when a child is removed from a parents home by a governmental agency involved in social services.

This is generally a good thing for the child as they are guaranteed to receive the treatment and care that they deserve but circumstances vary greatly with each individual case. Natural disasters or military actions can also put children in situations where adoption is an option.