Why China?

There are so many questions and curiosities surrounding our choice to adopt from China. Perhaps the following passage will help to answer some of those questions. This is an oversimplified explanation of the social/political climate in China that has created the enormous need for families to adopt Chinese girls but here goes:

In the 1970s, The Chinese government instituted a "one child policy" as a way to try to control population growth within the country. This one-child rule is strictly enforced by local province officials, though sometimes in varying ways that often includes monetary fines. As a socialist country, education and health care are provided through the government. Parents must register their child to receive these government services. Parents who do not comply with the one child policy are often fined, taxed, and are then required to pay out of their pockets for care of a second child. Chinese culture places high value on boys, particularly families in rural areas, because boys tend to remain with the family and take care of the parents as they age. Some families, expecially those in rural areas, cannot afford the fines and face pressure to abandon the child. Abandonment is considered a crime and birth families, particularly the birth mother, often abandon their babies in public areas like marketplaces, parks, and police stations, with the hopes that their children will be found quickly and taken to one of many state-run orphanages around the country.

These birth mothers take good care of themselves through their pregnancy, drug and alcohol use is rarely an issue. The families love and want their children; however, may be unable to raise them for financial and political reasons. The parents are taking a big risk and making enourmous sacrifices so that their children can have the chance to be raised in a family. The adoption is legally complete and irrevocable during the trip to China (which is about 2 weeks long); the chance of birth parent challenge is virtually zero since children must be declared orphans by the Chinese courts before they are eligible for adoption.

For many reasons, we feel that adopting from China is right for us, and we know deep in our hearts, that she will be our good fortune.

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."
--An ancient Chinese proverb