907_Ind3_S1

Name: Andrea Siefert

Instructions: Now that your group has decided on an issue, you must demonstrate that there is a problem. You will turn in this research sheet completed with two articles attached that you showed that there is a problem

I. There is a problem in society today. That problem is: Parents who put their kids up for adoption have the option of taking them back and this could phycologically and emotionally harm the children. There is no 2nd chances when it comes to the adoption of children. Children need to have stability especially in the first years of life. Having an adopted child in one house only to have that child ripped from the hands of the new family and tossed in with the biological parents that the child only knows as strangers is unfair to the child. Some argue that if both parents are not informed of the adoption that they have the legal right to regain the illegal adoption of said child. Some legislation needs to be made to prevent this traumatizing event from occurring for the future adopted children.

II. Facts that demonstrate that there is a problem are: (Two articles and bibliography must be attached) Among the many adoption custody cases are the most popular Baby Richard and Baby Jessica. For Baby Jessica, after 2 1/2 years of living with the adopted parents, the biological parents were granted custody. The biological father was not informed about the child and later pleaded to the court that this was unfair and he eventually won and regained custody. For Baby Richard, the biological father was also not consulted and after 4 years with the adoptive family he is forced to live with a family he doesn't even know. According to Mary Beth Style from Greenhaven Press in San Diego, the crisis with the American child welfare system is that it, "too often treats children as property and ignores their basic emotional needs that enable them to become healthy functioning human beings" (1). I completely agree. In the case of Baby Richard he was over four years old, that is old enough to cause damage and emotional and psychological issues.

Style, Mary Beth. "In the 'Baby Jessica' Case, the Court Was Wrong." //Adoption//. Ed. Andrew Harnack. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1995. Opposing Viewpoints. //Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011. Ingrassia, Michele. "'Ordered to surrender.'." //Newsweek// 6 Feb. 1995: 44+. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Web. 16 Feb. 2011.