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Full-Text Articles in Anthropology
Adoption Fees: Ethical Considerations For All Parties In Adoption, Mirah Riben
Adoption Fees: Ethical Considerations For All Parties In Adoption, Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben
A great deal is said about ethics in adoption. However, the term remains vague, undefined, and subjective with suggested, but no firm or enforced guidelines enacted to police the adoption industry and protect the families and individuals whose lives they irrevocably change. This presentation focuses on the inequities of adoption fees particularly in terms of providing legal counsel to the mothers relinquishing.
Fraud And Kidnapping Casts A Cloud On Guatemalan Adoptions, Mirah Riben
Fraud And Kidnapping Casts A Cloud On Guatemalan Adoptions, Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben
Children are being stolen, kidnapped and trafficked fro adoption in Guatemala, as elsewhere. The author reports on her Human Rights Delegatiion visit with one mother who successfully reclaimed her daughter as she was on her way to be adopted in the US, as well as her visit with Norma Cruz' Survivor's Foundation who is working to help the victim of kidnappings in this corrupt nation.
"Open Records" Versus "Equal Access": Reframing Our Issues, Mirah Riben
"Open Records" Versus "Equal Access": Reframing Our Issues, Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben
Adoption reform activists have for decades used the phrase "open records". Riben argues that "Equal Access" rightly reframes the argument as one of equality rather than a special request.
Who Deserves To Be A Mother: The Impact Of Class, Age And Powerlessness,, Mirah Riben
Who Deserves To Be A Mother: The Impact Of Class, Age And Powerlessness,, Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben
Worldwide, poverty far exceeds abuse, neglect or abandonment as adoption moves children from economically at-risk mothers to adopters of higher socio-economic status. Domestically, American mothers (and those in other industrialized countries) have historically lost children to protect their parents from the shame and stigma of out-of-wedlock, “unwed” pregnancy. It is socially created criteria such as age, marital and financial status, which change over time and place - not fitness - that determine who is considered "deserving" to be a mother and who is made to feel inadequate, selfish and undeserving of their own child. These criteria create pressure on marginalized, …
Adoption Loss, Pain, Irresolvable And Universal Grief, Mirah Riben
Adoption Loss, Pain, Irresolvable And Universal Grief, Mirah Riben
Mirah Riben
Adoption loss is a limbo loss with no ritual or closure, that has been recognized as being irresolvable, creating increased risk of secondary infertility and post traumatic stress disorder. The pain is felt regardless of where the mother lives, how much she chose the decision and felt it was best. The grief, pain and anger do not lessen over time.