Guatemala Suspends Adoptions

(NEWSER) - Guatemala and Vietnam, two of the most popular countries for international adoptions, recently halted their programs, following reports that some babies are kidnapped and put up for adoption or birth mothers coerced—fueled by the $30,000 an adoption can fetch. Vietnam says it will no longer allow adoptions to the US, while Guatemala will resume them only after slogging through a case-by-case review of pending adoptions. More»

Embassy probe finds fraud, bribery

(NEWSER) - US adoptions of Vietnamese children are tainted by bribery, kidnapping and baby-selling, according to an investigation by the US Embassy. The report, obtained by AP, discovered that one hospital sold a baby whose mother couldn't pay her medical bills. US couples—including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt—have adopted more than 1,200 Vietnamese children in the last 18 months. More»

US families adopt fewer kids abroad due to strict new policies

(NEWSER) - US adoptions from abroad have sunk for the third straight year, mostly because China and Russia have tougher policies, AP reports. A drop in adoptions from Haiti and South Korea have also added to the 15% decline since 2004. But a spike in adoptions from Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Vietnam have partly balanced the scales, experts say. More»

Search for birth parents leaves many frustrated

(NEWSER) - For the US adoptive families who return to China in search of their children's birth parents, their travels often, and frustratingly, wind their way to dead ends. Adoptions in China remain defiantly closed and shrouded in mystery—the country prohibits the abandoning of children, so most babies are abandoned anonymously, the LA Times reports. One professor who has made several documentaries about such adoptions can cite only about 20 cases in which the adoptive families found their children's birth relatives; more than 60,000 Chinese babies have been adopted by Americans in the last two decades. More»

Heigl, hubby, baby together, 'doing well'

(NEWSER) - Katherine Heigl and husband Josh Kelley released the first photo of adopted daughter Naleigh, Us reports; the family is “together and doing well,” her rep says. The 10-month-old is named for Heigl’s mother, Nancy, and sister, Margaret Leigh, who was also adopted from Korea. “They are thrilled to have a child in their lives, no matter what the challenges,” an insider says of Naleigh, who has special needs. More»