Bill and Susan’s Story of International Adoption
My friend, Susan and her husband Bill, were happily living in Arizona. Both professionals in their field and living the good life except for one thing. They desperately wanted children. Both of them felt that their lives would be complete if they had children.
The couple researched infertility treatments and like most other couples, found that they are very expensive and very emotionally draining. Not to mention, tons of visits to the doctor’s offices with no guarantee of success.
Susan and Bill went through the whole infertility regime for 2 years and at the cost of approximately $10,000 before deciding not to resume more treatments.
A caseworker that Susan knew through her consulting work suggested another option, adoption. At this point, Susan was 26. They were unsure if this was the direction, they wanted to take. Domestic adoptions are usually quite a long process and do not provide much of a guarantee of healthy infant. By the age of 29, they decided to adopt an infant to bless their family internationally.
They had heard about some success stories of other couples adopting through South Korea, so they, after much prayer and contemplation, chose that route. They used Dillon International out of Arizona, because they felt that the organization was committed to the lifetime care of these children.
Dillon International is based on the concept and belief in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. More research is available on Dillon International by going to http://www.dillonadopt.com.
In South Korea, when a woman becomes pregnant she has the option of hiding the pregnancy until birth or go to one of the Korean Social Services until the baby is born. In South Korea several years ago, most birth mothers kept the pregnancy a secret. Society and their families could completely reject them and turn them out to the streets. If society and the families knew of the pregnancy, these women could and most times became unemployable and unmarriageable. If the biological father wanted to acknowledge the baby he would have the child listed in his family blood lines, because most families follow the teachings of Confucius and the blood lines are very important. These children are then listed on the family registry.
Once the birth mother decides to check into an adoption birth home, she would relinquish her rights upon checking in. Most birth mothers relinquished their rights to the baby by either her signature or a red thumbprint on the documents in lieu of the signature. She is also asked to write a brief paragraph of herself and the biological father and divulge any family medical history if she so choose. With the lack of government documentation as it is here in the United States it is possible for the birth mother to give a fictitious name and/or not even mention the biological father’s name.
Once these babies are placed in orphanages they are usually cared for by foster parents. These are usually of grandparent age. These parents are provided with the formula, diapers, wipes, etc. that they baby would need. They are responsible for making sure that the babies receive all the proper medical care and immunizations. These babies are emotionally, physically stable babies, and lack many of the issues that come with babies and infants that have been institionalized. Most children past the age of three are not available for international adoption and are cared for by foster parents, families of the biological parents or orphanages.