Black Market Adoptions

A black market adoption is an adoption which involves the purchasing of a child and bypassing adoption laws and regulations of the adoption process. The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) is an agreement between countries to create requirements to protect children adopted by different countries. The rules were established in 2008.

Adoptions which are performed outside the rules established through the Hague Adoption Convention are considered black market adoptions. The general requirements of the convention include:

• Requiring countries to establish a central authority within the country for adoptions.
• Ensuring the child is eligible for adoption by the child's country of birth.
• Ensuring efforts have been made to notify the country of origin about the child's adoption.
• Working to ensure that adoptions under the Convention will generally be recognized.

Adoption experts within the United States suggest the best way to ensure the tenets of the convention are followed is to promote adoptions through an approved or accredited United States based Adoption Service Provider.

Black Market Adoption Today

Although it is less common for doctors to deliver babies in their offices and falsify adoption records, selling a baby to an adoptive family with or without the consent of the birthmother, birth experts contend that the black market, albeit in a different form, is alive and well today.

In fact, we know that babies continue to be sold for profit. With aging couples unable to conceive and willing to pay large sums of money for a child, with other countries desperate to move certain children out of their country, and with our government devoted to foster care rather than the permanent placement of orphans, it’s likely the black market will continue.

Illegal Adoptions within the United States

Buying a baby on the black market is not the only way to perform an illegal adoption. In fact, domestic adoptions may also be considered illegal or fraudulent if the adoption agency, attorney and/or birth mother charges unnecessary fees, the birth father is not properly notified, or the adoptive parents claim tax credits illegally.

Talk to an adoption lawyer if you have questions about the legality of your adoption, especially if you are involved in an international adoption from a country who is not a member of the Hague Convention.