Links

1. A very thought provoking blog post and the article it was based on.

2. Actress Nia Vardolos adopts a child from foster care, bucking the trend to adopt international (thanks Rich for the tip!). Her story on People.com.

Trying to adopt had been a long and frustrating process. But, when we
connected with an American Foster Family Agency, it happened very
quickly. One night, the phone rang – the social worker told me we'd
been "matched" with a 3-year-old girl.

I hung up the phone and stood still for a second. Then, I had
to sit down. Within a minute, I was laying on the floor. Yeah, this was
real: A little girl was coming to our home. Tomorrow.

There wasn't a baby shower, there wasn't time to discuss with
family and friends, there was no way to really prepare for her arrival.

(although I hope she isn't implying that the child literally just was dropped off. In my state, this would not happen. There would be transitional visits for a while before the child was permanently adopted).

3. From The Hankyoreh:  Adoptee rights organizations and S. Korean NGOs sponsor events supporting “a day without adoption” to address root-causes

Adoptee Solidarity Korea (ASK), a Korean adoptee organization,
sponsored an afternoon symposium at the National Human Rights
Commission of Korea (NHRCK) about alternatives to intercountry (ICA)
adoption with representatives from five NGOs on Friday, May 8.

The event, hosted together with the Korean Foster Care Association, the
Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network, A-Ha! Sexuality Education
Counseling Center, TacTeen and the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center,
was one in a weekend series held in conjunction with Adoption Day,
advancing the idea of “having a day without adoption.”

Read the whole article here.

4. Once again the NYT is tackling international adoption. This time they put together a round table with several "experts." I am likely going to have more to say about this, but for now, why are the usual suspects there? Need a staunch conservative pro-IA lawyer? Elizabeth Bartholet, check. Need an expert on orphans and orphanges? Adoptive parent Jane Aronson, check. Need an adoptive parent who is critical? David Smolin, check. Need an adult adoptee perspective…..oh wait – that's right. An adult adoptee perspective is NEVER a regular at a round table. How dumb of me to forget. We don't count once we are no longer babies or toddlers. Seriously, my opinion of the New York Times keeps slipping lower and lower.

Read the NYT roundtable here.

**Edited to add**

5. A conversation about E.J. Graff's investigative piece on international adoption by an adoptive parent on Anti-Racist Parent. Read the piece here.