Guatemala Adoption: Dateline Recap

In Follow-up to When Adoptions Go Wrong: Dateline Exclusive

Like Lisa at Adopting from Guatemala, I was also pleasantly surprised by the piece Dateline NBC aired last week on Guatemalan adoptions. They did not focus on the rumors of baby snatchers or birth mothers selling their babies, baby farms, or extortion. Rather, they focused in on one story and one attorney; Thanasis, who is supposed to be banned from performing adoptions in Guatemala. Good idea, Dateline. In my opinion, if they had gone that route, they would have tainted Guatemalan adoptions for a long, long, time.

Dateline also interviewed Troy from Guatadopt who spoke of the good adoptions do for Guatemalan children, who otherwise would not have much hope. Troy delivered a powerful message when he reminded the viewers that 30,000 children die in Guatemala every year.

Lisa states that showing the poverty of the country would have been a good thing…that Focusing on the children who will never have families is crucial to understanding the need for adoption from third world countries like Guatemala. but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think that poverty has anything to do with why I am adopting my son from Guatemala or why many others chose a particular country. I have said many times before that I am not saving my child from anything, nor am I giving him a better home…