Linda and Mary brought up perspectives regarding the
openness of adoption that I had not considered prior to their speaking in
class. They both had strong opinions
regarding the rights of adoptee to have information regarding their
birthparents. They both had circumstances in which they thought that openness in
adoption would be beneficial. Linda explained how the lack of openness in the
state in which she was adopted from is very frustrating and limiting in her
quest for information. The bureaucracy that would be involved in getting her
adoption records was so off putting it stopped her from pursuing them. She also
brought up the point that openness would allow for adoptees to have access to
pertinent family medical history. This could be extremely important if there
was a genetic disease that could be passed on or heat disease, the list could
go on. Mary had the same feeling about
the importance of access to medical records for adoptees. In the reading from
Anita Allen she mentions briefly how openness in adoption has limited the shame
the had previously been associated with adoption, (47, Open Adoption is not for Everyone).
Being a biology major, and knowing how greatly genetics can
affect one’s health, I feel that openness with regard to medical records is the
most convincing argument that a person could make in advocating for openness in
adoption.
While both did favor openness in some situations, they both
did not see it as something that they feel should be a necessary part of
adoption, especially Mary. After inadvertently connecting with her
birth-mother, which was something she actually was not that interested in, a
lot of issues have come up between them. She feels that openness allows for the
adults involved to feel better about the situation. She brought up the point that
an open adoption has very few consequences for the adults involved, but many
for the child. Mary spoke of the emotional burden having a relationship with her
somewhat unstable birth-mother has caused, and how she didn’t get to decide
that that relationship was something she wanted. I think that this speaks to
the importance of autonomy we have discussed in class. Mary did not have the
opportunity to speak for herself in the situation, and because her right to
autonomy was violated she has had to suffer. I found this to be the most
convincing argument for closed adoptions.
While both sides of the argument have valid points, I feel
that whether or not an adoption is open or closed should depend entirely on the
situation. I think that if a child was older when they were adopted and had a
relationship with their birthparents prior to their adoption, it could be
beneficial to the child to maintain that relationship. I also feel that
adoptions should remain closed for children adopted at birth, with no previous
relationship with their birthparents, should be able to make decisions about a
relationship with their birthparents if or when they feel ready or want the relationship.
--Mary
Graded Blog Post Reply
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
I really enjoyed reading your blog and seeing what your thoughts on open and closed adoption were. After I was done reading it I realized that you had very similar thoughts and opinions I expressed in my own blog post. Even though I am not a biology major, I truly agree that it is so important and actually essential that adopted children know their medical history. I feel like if a child is kept in the dark about medical history because of the adoption being closed and then something happens to the child medically there is a huge problem there. Even though most of the stories of adoption we have heard from are those that took place in the 50s-70s, it seems like nowadays it is easier for adopted children to receive their medical history, so hopefully this continues into the future.
You also brought up Mary’s experience with meeting her mother and the “emotional burden” that it has had on her. I feel like if more people knew that sometimes when adopted children meet their birth parents it can actually cause more harm than good maybe people would rethink the debate about open vs. closed adoption. The “loss of control” that both Mary and Linda expressed really influenced my thoughts about the debate. I wonder if this also hit home for you? It’s extremely difficult to figure out whether closed or open adoption is better. Part of me believes that it has to be looked at through each individual case, but at the same time that seems a little realistic. Do you have any thoughts on how adoption agencies could go about deciding what is best for the child?
Again, I really enjoyed reading your blog post!
Samantha J.