This guest blog was written by Erin Bachaus.
Black, L. (2013). Evanston couple must give up Korean baby. Chicago Tribune.
[Photo by Abel Uribe/ Chicago Tribune]
An Illinois couple who adopted a newborn daughter from South Korea are now being forced by the South Korean government to return the child to her native country due the family’s failure to abide by South Korean adoption laws. The couple, Jinshil and Christopher Duquet report that they “followed bad legal advice” in the adoption and had every intention of following through with a legal private adoption. South Korean officials say the couple did not use a licensed adoption agency, a requirement of all South Korean adoptions. The case originally received attention from authorities when Jinshil flew back to the United States with her newly adopted daughter and was told at the O’Hare airport in Chicago that she lacked proper adoption documentation for the child. The Duquets have one other daughter, a ten year old who was also adopted from South Korea. The now nine month old adopted child will not return to her biological parents, as her mother and grandmother relinquished their parental rights and do not want custody of her; she will instead be placed with an adoptive family in South Korea.
The article tells both sides of the story well, explaining that the reason these strict adoption laws exist is to prevent the trafficking and abuse of children. However, the author could have included more information as to why giving the family a second chance to go through with the adoption while following all the proper guidelines was not an option. It was also unimportant to include the biological mother’s living situation, highlighting that she is homeless and has another child, which just perpetuates stereotypes of single mothers and their use of adoption to take the easy way out by abandoning their responsibilities. The author provided enough information about the biological mother simply by stating that she gave up her parental rights and did not want the child back, making the additional information unnecessary. The situation was very unfortunate for all parties involved, however the article promotes the myth that adopted children can be taken back, even after the adoption has been finalized, which is every adoptive parent’s worst fear. The article does help to dispel the myth that international adoptions are faster and easier than domestic adoptions, however. Though the explicit purpose of the article is not to encourage adoptions within the United States, it certainly cautions perspective adoptive parents about the possible complications of international adoptions. The article was well-written and clear. Questions surrounding the financial implications for the Duquets and the consequences for the lawyer that advised the family still remain unanswered, however and would provide more detailed picture of the situation.
The article tells both sides of the story well, explaining that the reason these strict adoption laws exist is to prevent the trafficking and abuse of children. However, the author could have included more information as to why giving the family a second chance to go through with the adoption while following all the proper guidelines was not an option. It was also unimportant to include the biological mother’s living situation, highlighting that she is homeless and has another child, which just perpetuates stereotypes of single mothers and their use of adoption to take the easy way out by abandoning their responsibilities. The author provided enough information about the biological mother simply by stating that she gave up her parental rights and did not want the child back, making the additional information unnecessary. The situation was very unfortunate for all parties involved, however the article promotes the myth that adopted children can be taken back, even after the adoption has been finalized, which is every adoptive parent’s worst fear. The article does help to dispel the myth that international adoptions are faster and easier than domestic adoptions, however. Though the explicit purpose of the article is not to encourage adoptions within the United States, it certainly cautions perspective adoptive parents about the possible complications of international adoptions. The article was well-written and clear. Questions surrounding the financial implications for the Duquets and the consequences for the lawyer that advised the family still remain unanswered, however and would provide more detailed picture of the situation.