Last year 20,000 children were adopted
in casual, unplanned, sometimes ill-advised ways;
needless tragedies resulted, yet this
dangerous "gray market" continues to grow
But these placements hover between .
legality and illegality, hence the term
"gray." The go-betweens rarely realize
they are operating in a legal shadowland
because adoption statutes are complex and
differ widely from state to state. In some,
any unlicensed third party who tries to
arrange an adoption is guilty of a crime;
in others, these deals are allowed. In still
other states, courts approve private adop
tions, even though the law is actually being
broken, provided the mother appears before
the court and gives her consent
A report in the Yale Law Journal says
this about private adoptions: "When adop
tions are the product of independent place
ments, the blind frequently lead the blind.
Good intentions are no substitute for trained
and experienced personnel. The interests
of the child, as well as those of the natural
and adoptive parents, may be lost and un
protected in a humanitarian mist."
From my own experience, I know this to
be true. Even though the majority of
independent adoptions turn out well, far
too many do not. It is undoubtedly true
that people who give babies to couples
they hardly know, or don't know at all,
are causing much heartbreak.
Just six weeks ago, for example, Mr.
and Mrs. John Vasta, a Brooklyn, N. Y.,
couple, were facing an ordeal they had
dreaded ever since they had taken a four-day-old
youngster into their home and their
hearts in 1957. Richard Guy, born out of
wedlock to a 14-year-old girl, was never
legally adopted. Last March, Mr. and Mrs.
Vasta decided to dispel the gnawing fear
that some day their child might be taken
from them, and they instructed their law
yer to make the necessary arrangements
with Richard's natural mother.
When the mother, Mrs. Amelia Malave,
who had since married and been widowed,
was notified of the whereabouts of her son,
she said that he had been taken from her
without her permission and that until she
heard from the lawyer she had been un
able to locate him. She demanded three-year-old
Richard back and has since taken
the case to court.
At this writing, the case has not been
decided, but it's very possible that the
Vastas will have to give up the little boy
whom they have raised and loved as their
own son for three years.
This suffering could have been averted
if the case had been handled by a recog
nized adoption agency. What follows will
explain why. Here, then, are the major dan
gers of the gray market in babies, based
upon the files of the Child Welfare League
of America, the experiences of licensed
adoption agencies, and reports and obser
vations of many authorities in the field:
1. A gray-market arrangement cannnl
prelect die new parents sufficiently
against future claims by the natural
parents.
The Brooklyn case is not an isolated one.
It happens hundreds of times, and few hu
man experiences can be more tragic.
In many cases, natural parents win back
the children they once gave up. I know
a West Coast couple who sadly dismantled
a crib recently and gave away a roomful
of toys. Eight months after they thought
they had their adopted son forever, they
were ordered to give him up.
These things can happen because, in most
private adoptions, the real mother knows
the identity of the new parents. In states
where such adoptions are permitted, the
law requires the go-between to tell her
where the baby is going and to whom.
Consequently, if the real mother suffers
a change of heart, she can look up the
new parents and demand her child. Com
plicated laws are involved, differing from
state to state, but there are grounds on
which a natural mother can win back
her child even though it has been "legally"
adopted and living with its new family
for years.
This peril is not present in agency adop
tions. Placements handled by recognized
organizations protect the new parents fully.
Never, under any circumstances, does the
real mother know who is adopting her
baby. She can never trace the child. She
signs a release for adoption, and the agency
is then empowered to act After adoption,
all records are sealed by law. The real
mother is given only enough information
to satisfy her that her baby will be in the
best available home.
Equally important, the mother is helped
to come to a firm decision, reducing the
chance she will ever come back to demand
her child. If troubled following the release
of her child, she receives counseling.
2. Private adoptions increase the risk
that a child-hungry couple will gel a sick
baby. The disappointment and rejection
that may ensue can cause severe emo
tional problems (or both the child and
the new parents.
(Continued)
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Hjnous
HEADACHES
Acts Instantly to Give More
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How Tension j &OA (
Headaches a'- ' -. fyf
Start - -!'
L t . :HZ
Tension builds up in
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.0
. . . puts painful pres
sure on nerves
.0
Tension and pressure
cause headache pain.
Artacin contains spe
cial medicalion mot
found in aspirin or any
buflered aspirin) to
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3 out ol 4 doctors
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the Ingredients in.
ANACIN relaxes tension,
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Tense, nervous headaches need the
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I4IAOAOHI - NIURAUMA
Family Weekly. May 1, 1960