The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, And The New Gospel Of Adoption (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
This book thoroughly documents the many problems that exist with international adoption. These include:1) Adoptive parents who view adoption as a religious calling, not necessarily understanding the implications for the child(ren) they adopt, or feeling as though their religious calling trumps the laws of the country of origin.2) Demand for foreign babies in the U.S. and Europe leading to baby-theft or coerced relinquishment of children who would otherwise have stable homes in their countries of origin.3) Adopted children, especially but not limited to those coming from war-torn or otherwise unstable countries, who struggle to acclimate to their adopted culture, and are surrounded by people incapable or unwilling to help them.4) International adoption becoming the favored solution to the problem of children born to unequipped mothers, rather than working out solutions to the underlying problems, such as poverty, or cultural stigma against unwed motherhood.Needless to say, this book is filled with absolutely horrifying stories of people subverting the legal adoption systems, exploiting or abusing the children they adopt, or forcing or coercing women who are otherwise capable of caring for the child to give their babies up.The writing isn't great -- there is a lot of ambiguous grammar that required me to re-read sentences (this book could have benefited from maybe 100 additional commas) but it's not bad enough to detract from the message. "The Child Catchers" is an extraordinary book written by a humane and deeply insightful journalist. It's not only an absolute must-read for anyone considering (international or domestic) adoption, but also feminists, who need to understand the reproductive justice and human rights issues posed by adoption as it is currently practiced; for those interested in international development and child-welfare policy; for Christians, to think about what role evangelism should play in orphan careBottom line: Some of the biggest adoption agencies have long, twisted histories of corrupt and unethical adoptions. They count on the naive and trusting gullibility of prospective parents. They use their (alleged) faith to pretend they are Godly people to suck in the unsuspecting.Kathryn totally nails this problem in her book in shocking, vivid, incontrovertible detail.And it isn't pretty.
What do You think about The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, And The New Gospel Of Adoption (2013)?
Wonderful and important piece of investigative reporting. Should be widely read by policy-makers.
—Riley12
Anyone involved in adoption, or involved in adoption policy, should read this.
—Jesika
Wow. This was an eye-opening, sad book.
—annfaith1
