Changing perspectives on adoption: Children as gifts, not charity

To become a parent is almost everyone’s dream. However, not everybody can realize this dream. One way to become a parent is through adoption.

Adoption is defined as a legal process whereby all parental rights and responsibilities, including custody, maintenance, and education, are permanently transferred from the child’s biological parents or guardians to adoptive parents.

Once an adoption order is made, the biological parents’ or guardians’ rights, duties, obligations, and liabilities, including those under customary law, cease entirely, and the adoptive parents assume these responsibilities fully, as if the child were naturally born to them. It is not an act of charity by prospective adoptive parents but an opportunity for them, granted by the child, to become parents.

Adopted children are not the second-best option. They are equal in every aspect of children’s biology. When we view adoption as a benevolent act, we risk treating the adopted children differently. However, when we recognize the true gift of adoption, we provide the same unconditional love and support to all children.

In Ghana, adoption is often misconceived as an easy solution for child abandonment or neglect. However, the reality outlined in the Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560) and its subsequent Amendment Act of 2016 (Act 937) reveals a more complex scenario.

The Ghanaian adoption law is a comprehensive system that emphasizes the best interests of the child, requiring careful vetting and matching processes to ensure suitable adoptive placements.

This complexity is often overlooked, and understanding it is crucial for a more empathetic and informed approach to adoption.

Adoption is not simply a means to ‘own’ a child; instead, it is a legal process of transferring full parental rights and responsibilities.

Moreover, the availability of adoptive children is relatively limited. Most children in Ghana’s residential homes or orphanages are not adoptable.

Official statistics indicate that approximately 60% of the children in these homes do not qualify for adoption, often because they still have traceable family connections or legal barriers.

Among the adoptable (40%), the majority were either older children above 13 years of age or had special needs. Only about 5% are babies without special needs, which is frequently the preferred group by adoption applicants. This scarcity underscores the need for a more empathetic and understanding approach to adoption.

Understanding this scarcity can help us appreciate the unique circumstances of each adoptable child and approach adoption with a more profound sense of empathy.

Contrary to popular belief, international adoption practices, guided by the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993), prioritize the child’s welfare over the applicant’s desire.

The Convention emphasizes that intercountry adoption should only occur when no suitable care alternatives exist within the child’s own country, aligning with Ghana’s national policies.

The Department of Social Welfare in Ghana actively promotes child protection and family strengthening through preventive programs aimed at reducing child abandonment and neglect, thereby decreasing the number of adoptable children.

Consequently, potential adoptive parents interested in genuinely supporting their children’s well-being might consider channelling their efforts to help children in foster care or residential homes. Unlike adoption, which involves the permanent transfer of parental rights, foster care is a temporary arrangement that still offers the opportunity to significantly impact a child’s life positively.

Ultimately, adoption applicants must recalibrate their perspective: adoption is not a favour they extend but a privilege they receive. Recognizing this truth helps to ensure that adoptive children are loved and cared for as genuinely and wholly as biological children, honouring their dignity and humanity.

This shift in perspective is not just a change in mindset, but a powerful tool that can positively impact the lives of adoptive children.

By: Samuel Enyo Anaglate, The Head-Foster Care Services Unit at the Department of Social Welfare