Celebrity Adoption

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/04/03/madonna.reaction.adoption.malawi/index.html

With Madonna's latest adoption in the news, I wanted to post this link to an interview with an author and mom of internationally adopted children. She makes some important points about the need for children to be in families as early in life as possible, and that these needs are international - some parents are called to adopting from their home countries, and others from around the world. As well, she comments on the truth that international adoption is not the ultimate answer - it cannot reach most children in orphanages, and does not solve the social and economic issues leading to children being placed in orphanages, but it does meet the needs of those children who would otherwise not be growing up in families. She also comments on the negative press given to celebrities who choose to adopt internationally, and some of the assumptions made about the ethics and legality of these "celebrity adoptions" - and I agree so much - judging their choices only hurts the image of international adoption and perpetuates the belief that it is appropriate to comment on situations with which we have only a media-filtered awareness. Anyway, have a look at the interview, and see what you think!