Follow the Law or Save a Life?
by Leigh Ranck
Singer and superstar Madonna sparked controversy last year by adopting one-year old David Banda from an orphanage in Malawi, a democratic country in southeastern Africa. In Malawi, the government closely regulates the adoption process. The current adoption procedure requires that a couple live in the country for eighteen months before being allowed to adopt a child. Currently, it is illegal for anyone to adopt a child internationally; however, laws are being considered to change this. Therefore, when Madonna adopted David, it was illegal to do so. Why was Madonna allowed to adopt this child? Most know the answer to this question; Madonna is quite wealthy which grants her a little more leeway when it comes to laws. Also being in the public eye did not hurt her case for adoption. But should wealth be considered in saving a child's life?
Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries and presently has a population of thirteen million people, forty-seven percent of which are children under fourteen years of age. Malawi has an infant mortality rate of about one hundred deaths per one thousand births. Malawi has even more problems to deal with; insufficient nutrition, poor access to medical treatment, lack of adequate education, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. With an estimated one million orphans in the country, why does the country have such stringent restrictions on international adoptions? Wealthy criminals might take advantage of the children the government allows to be adopted internationally. However, no current reports suggest that criminal activity is taking place in international adoptions in other countries within Africa. It is much easier for criminals who seek children for criminal activities to go to countries where the children are not in orphanages. Are Malawi's restrictions on adoptions ultimately causing more harm, not only to the country, but also to the large number of orphans? These restrictions on international adoption are forcing prospective adoptive parents to go to other countries when looking for children to adopt legally and more easily.
Madonna is not the first superstar to be drawn to international adoption. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt famously have three adopted children, a young boy from Cambodia, a young boy from Vietnam, and a baby girl from Ethiopia. It seems that wealth and prestige do not hurt when it comes to international adoption procedures. So will wealthy celebrities, as well as people in general, be more attracted to countries with lesser standards when it comes to adoption? Malawi's laws on adoption are both detrimental and protective. In one way, the laws allow for the government to thoroughly check for any criminal or dangerous behavior by the prospective adoptive parents. But the question remains, is it more likely that parents will have good intentions rather than ill intentions when it comes adopting children internationally? For a country with very few things to offer not only to the orphans but also to their older citizens, is more money being spent on preventative measures on adoption that could be spent on improving life within the country? Malawi and other countries should consider just how strict their laws need to be on adoption to allow an easy process for prospective adoptive parents, and yet maintain enough stringency to protect the rights of the youngest of their citizens.
Sources:
Tenthani, Raphael. "Madonna Adoption Divides Malawi." BBC News. 16 Oct. 2006. 13 Apr. 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6054492.stm
