 People tend to hold strong
opinions about many things, including adoption. There are
some who go to extremes in their thinking. This seems to
happen with the concept of open adoptions. Some are very set
against it while others embrace it whole heartedly.
Some of the negativity about
openness in adoptions comes from misunderstandings of what
it is about. Some equate it as there being no boundaries, no
rules and no privacy in the relationship between birth and
adoptive parents. Some see it as shared parenting. However,
this is not what happens in open adoptions.
 Open Adoption Defined
Coming to terms with a
definition of open adoption can be a challenge. At its most
liberal perspective, open adoption involves the
communication and interaction between birth and adoptive
parents including face-to-face meetings, disclosure of
identities and the establishment of a meaningful
relationship. Many others see the value of practicing a
range of openness from semi-open to fully-open.
Closed Adoption Defined
Closed adoption at its extreme
refers to adoption practices where there is little or no
sharing of information to a birth parent about an adoptive
parent. It is an adoption plan where there is no choice
given to birth parents in selecting adoptive parents and
little or no communication between them.
Adoption Works Best When…
We believe adoption works best
when the needs of everyone in the “adoption triangle” are
met. The adoption triangle refers to the birth parents, the
adoptive parents and the child. We believe there are many
reasons why this occurs the most with open adoptions. We
believe, when done well and within an appropriate plan,
openness does have great benefits for everyone.
Some of the Issues...
We understand that many fear
openness in adoption and some are strongly opposed to it.
Much of this comes from rare horror stories and perspectives
based on the traditions of a closed adoption system of years
past. We believe that the societal conditions which had
promoted the closed adoption system have changed. Attitudes
have changed about birth parents, unplanned pregnancies and
many aspects of adoption. We believe openness offers options
for many birth parents who would otherwise not consider
adoption. We have also seen from many personal examples how
this process works so well.
You Make Your Plan
We at Georgia AGAPE share
information on this topic as our birth parents do their
adoption planning. The choice of what kind of plan to
arrange belongs to the birth parents. We help facilitate
this in an understanding and supportive way.
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