In basic terms, adoption is when a child’s custody is given
to a person or two people that aren’t the biological
parents of that child.
Adoption permanently negates the biological parent or
parents from any responsibility of that child for the rest
of its life. The person or people that adopted the child
gain full custodial rights and there isn’t really a
difference between biological and adoptive parents in the
eyes of the law.
There are many different types of adoption that include
open adoption, semi-open adoption, and closed adoption.
An open adoption is when custody is given to non-biological
parents but the biological parents are entitled to visits,
letters, or other forms of contact.
The arrangements vary and can be very lenient or
restrictive depending on the situation. A semi-open
adoption gives the biological parents a chance to meet the
adoptive parents a few times.
This lets them have the option of choosing an open or
closed adoption at a later date. A closed adoption only
gives the adoptive parents medical records but not much
else. Little is ever known about the biological parents.
This can be due to governmental agencies placing the
children due to an unhealthy environment or abuse.
Many issues can contribute to a child being put up for
adoption. Some of the most common issues are when a mother
knows she cannot take care of her child or when a child is
removed from a parents home by a governmental agency
involved in social services.
This is generally a good thing for the child as they are
guaranteed to receive the treatment and care that they
deserve but circumstances vary greatly with each individual
case. Natural disasters or military actions can also put
children in situations where adoption is an option.