Madonna's rep denies adoption rumors Filed under: Toddlers, Adoption, Life & style, Celeb parenting, Rumors, That's entertainment
Last thing we heard, Madonna--who, by the way, ya'll, is now officially FIFTY!--was primed and ready to adopt another child. Rumor had it the child would be a little girl from Malawi, from where Madonna adopted her third child, David. As the rumor went, the little girl's name was Mercy, she was two years old and her family didn't want Madge to adopt her. Now that the rumor mills are in full spin mode--other rumors circulated that the would-be adoption ws causing the alleged turmoil in the Material Mom's marriage to filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie--Madonna's rep is negating the whole thing. That's what they get paid for, right? Deny, deny, deny. Liz Rosenberg, Madonna's mouthpiece, insists the rumors are not true. Instead, she says, Madge is headed on tour in a week. Not that a busy schedule ever stopped a female celebrity from giving birth or adopting! Tell that to Angelina Jolie, Liz! Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
Adoption - it's a guy thing Filed under: Just for dads, Adoption  From Mary McDonnell finding an abandoned baby in the bushes while jogging in Grand Canyon to Jennifer Garner's desire to adopt in Juno, it would seem that Hollywood, if not the rest of the world, sees adoption as primarily a female goal. According to a new report, however, adoption is apparently a guy thing. Like just about twice as much a guy thing.Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth showed that more than 1.2 million men and just over six hundred thousand women had adopted children. The report also noted, though, that at least part of the difference may be due to men marrying and adopting their new spouse's children from a prior relationship. Still, even allowing for that situation, you simply can't make the claim that adoption is something only women think about. My father grew up in an orphanage, so I do like the idea of adopting. If money weren't a consideration, I would definitely think about adopting a couple of kids. I know there are a lot of kids out there that need families; it's good to know that guys are every bit as interested in giving them homes as women are.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
Poland opens surrogate baby factory Filed under: Pregnancy & birth, Adoption, In the news  Poland thinks that they have the answer to their declining population problem, a controversial "baby house" where 37 young women live, prepared to provide babies for infertile couples. Authorities say that 1.5 million couples in Poland are unable to have children, but for 11,000 pounds (about $21,000 U.S.), women at the baby house -- who are screened for health problems and who pledge not to drink or smoke -- will have one for them.Though it's not entirely clear from reading this article, it appears that these women are not gestational carriers, or women who carry a baby who is not biologically related to them. They are surrogates in the truest sense of the word, carrying their biological children, then giving them up for adoption. This, I think, is one of the most controversial parts of this "baby factory" idea. What if the women change their mind during the pregnancy or after the baby is born? What if they aren't prepared for the emotional part of relinquishing a baby? The center requires parents to adopt the babies immediately after birth, regardless of whether the child is healthy or not. This may prevent them from being embroiled in a situation like the recent surrogate custody issue in India, but even so, this seems to be a solution that might create more problems than it solves. What do you think? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
Surrogate baby trapped in legal limbo Filed under: Newborns, Pregnancy & birth, Adoption, In the news, Weird but true, Single parenting  (Click the photo to see the 10 Dumbest Laws in America) For one thirteen-day-old baby, life is turning out to be no cake walk. A newborn brought into the world nearly two weeks ago by native Indian Priti Patel, who served as a surrogate mother, is stuck in India. Her would-be parents, Ikufumi Yamada and Yuki Yamada, divorced right before she was born. Yuki no longer wants to adopt the child, but Ikufumi does. According to Indian law, however, children may not be adopted by single men. As a result, the newborn is living in India with Ikufumi 's mother, who is staying on to care for the newborn. The baby has yet to be adopted. Since she has no adoption papers, she cannot be issued a passport. And, because she can't get a passport, she can't leave the country. %Gallery-29009% Patel has also left the scene after serving as the surrogate. She is part of a process known as commercial surrogacy wherein couples who cannot have a child on their own provide the sperm and eggs to a surrogate mother, who carries the child to term and then is paid a fee for her services. The couple then generally adopt their child and are on their merry way. Not so much for the twelve-day-old, who at this point I don't think even has a name! What a sad state things are in when a little technical legality keeps a man from legitimately adopting his own child! Pic by ayahthetiger. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
Adoption site: no gays allowed Filed under: Adoption, 2Moms2Dads, In the news  Making the choice to adopt requires a big commitment. You really have to be prepared and know what you're getting into. It's not something that can happen by accident or in the heat of the moment. In New York, you can even get certified as "Qualified Adoptive Parents" by the New York City Surrogate Court. That's what Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner did.When they went online to register with ParentProfiles.com, a website that lists prospective adoptive parents' information, however, they ran into an unforeseen obstacle -- discrimination. You see, Adoption Profiles, LLC, the company that runs the website, limits profiles to "Qualifying Husband and Wife Couples". The same company chose to stop doing business in California rather than take on the state's antidiscrimination laws after being sued in 2004. Now they may have to give up New York as well -- Lambda Legal, a national, non-profit, civil rights organization, has filed, on behalf of Gennaro and Gardner, a discrimination complaint with the New York attorney general's office. It's a shame that someone would let their prejudice get in the way of finding a loving home for a child that needs one. "We are committed partners who can provide a loving home for the child," says Gennaro. It's too bad that Adoption Profiles won't let a child into that loving home.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
Monkeys as surrogate children Filed under: Babies, Adoption, Weird but true  If you thought fake babies were a weird substitute for having actual children, what do you think about monkeys? As in primates? As in monkids? Apparently, adopting capuchin monkeys and treating them just like a human member of the family is all the rage among some folks. Empty-nesters and those who can't or don't want to have actual children are shelling out big bucks for monkeys who will take their place in the family as babies who never grow up.Lori Johnson adopted her capuchin, Jessy, because she was lonely after her children grew up and left home. Depressed, she decided that what would cheer her up would be to rip a baby monkey from its mother and dress it up in baby clothes and treat it like her own child. When Jessy became a little aggressive, Lori had the monkey's teeth removed. That solved the problem and now they are a happy little family, sharing the dinner table and even the bed. "I couldn't imagine not having her," Lori says. "We do something all the time with her." Not all monkid stories have a happily-ever-after. Kari Bagnall, who runs a sanctuary for monkeys whose human parents could no longer care for them, sees first-hand the dark side of adopting wild animals as pets or surrogate children. "I have monkeys here that the people have had for 20 years. Never had a problem," Bagnall says. "Twenty years later, the monkey attacks. So it's just something, it's going to happen. It's not a matter of, you know, if they're going to attack. It's when." I don't doubt that Lori Johnson, and the estimated 15,000 like her in the United States, truly love their little monkey children. And I can even see the appeal in adopting a creature that will forever remain infantile and cute. But I think it is the height of selfishness to take an intelligent creature away from its natural mother and habitat because it makes you happy.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
When the Safe Haven law gets used Filed under: Newborns, Pregnancy & birth, Adoption, Health & safety  Every state in the union now has a safe haven law, allowing a parent to leave a baby with specified people or organizations instead of abandoning or injuring the child. I think this is a good thing -- if someone finds themselves with a baby they are unable to care for, I would much rather see that baby dropped off at a hospital, firehouse, or police station than have it dumped in a trash can or left in the woods.I have no idea what it would be like to have to surrender one's child, but I do have some insight into what it is like to be on the other end of the process. I came across this piece written by a college student who was working at a hospital when a young woman brought in her baby. It's an interesting look at a side of the process we don't usually think about -- those who take these children in are affected too. I wish that we had absolutely no need for these laws, but until that happens, I'm glad there are people like this young man who can help these infants with compassion and caring.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments |
