Thanks for stopping by! Whatever Things Are True covers politics, policy, and parenting in international adoption. Too often, the way we talk about international adoption reminds me of that old fable about The Blind Men and the Elephant – we tend to confuse one small part of the animal for the whole beast. Although I’m the mother of three via international adoption, I try to take a child-centered approach to adoption issues. I hope you’ll stick around and share your thoughts, too.
The Christian Orphan Care Movement has been under scrutiny for several years, and much of it has been unfair. At the same time, changes are needed to promote better outcomes for children.
Check out this powerful and gutsy post from Kristen Howerton at Rage Against the Minivan, where she lays it all out:
How the Christian Orphan Care Movement May be Enabling Child Abandonment
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Molly Born and Paula Reed Ward of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette have written a thoughtful piece about the tragic Barbour abuse case that asks:
What happened to this God-fearing couple to move them from happy and loving blog posts to felony charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children?
Doug and Kristen Barbour are accused of severely abusing the 6-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl they adopted from Ethiopia earlier this year. The children have been removed from their care, along with the couple's two young biological children.
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Douglas Barbour, 33, and Kristen Barbour, 30, face charges of aggravated assault stemming from their daughter's treatment and endangering the welfare of children related to both the girl and boy.
Douglas Barbour also faces a simple assault charge related to his son's condition.
Deputy Attorney General Douglas Barbour and his wife, Kristen were arraigned today after their 6-year-old boy was found malnourished with skin lesions and the 18-month-old girl having multiple skull fractures and being possibly permanently blind.
Another terrible incident of children being abused by adoptive parents. This story reports that a Pennsylvania couple adopted two Ethiopian children through a "church group." I haven't wanted to believe that there is "peer pressure" to adopt in the evangelical community, but I'm starting to wonder. Are families feeling pressure to adopt? Are a few getting swept up in the idea of "saving an orphan" without truly soul searching to determine if it's the right choice for their family? How we stop these tragedies?
Writing in HuffPost Parents, editor Lisa belkin reports that, based on an analysis of hospital records, child abuse is up nationally among families of all kinds. She writes:
Dr. James Anderst, chief of the section on child abuse and neglect at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo., told NBC News, we can reverse... [the number of abusive incidents] "the same way we get people to quit smoking. It is the same way we get people to wear seat belts. It is a combination of laws, and enforcement of those laws and also supporting people so they can be better parents."
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The recently-released spring 2012 issue of The Journal of Christian Legal Thought focuses exclusively on the theological and legal concerns surrounding adoption and the evangelical orphan care movement. Legal professor and well-known adoption critic David Smolin served as guest editor for the issue, which also includes articles from evangelical leaders, scholars, theologians, a mother, and adoptees. The journal is available online without cost here.
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