China announced the suspension of international adoptions, impacting over 80,000 children adopted to the U.S. in the past three decades. Chinese adoptees have mixed feelings, ranging from relief that children can maintain their birth cultures to grief over the end of a program central to their experiences. The suspension has added complexity to an already complicated experience.
The recent policy change has highlighted the mismatch between the personal impact on adoptees versus the policy level decision. Connections among adoptees with shared experiences have become crucial to navigating these emotions. The suspension of international adoptions coincides with the reversal of China’s one-child policy and a decline in birth rates, leading the country to pursue a three-child policy.
The new rule has sparked reflection on the one-child policy, with adoptees like Katelyn Monaco expressing both sorrow over the end of similar experiences and hope that children in orphanages can now stay connected to their birth culture. Documentation and access to records for existing adoptees, like Maze Felix, present a challenge, raising concerns about potential cultural disconnection and loss of validity in their identities.
It is important for adoptees to be central to discussions on the policy change, as their viewpoints and experiences are often overlooked. Adoption is not a one-time event but an ongoing experience that shapes adoptees’ identities across their lifetimes. More support for children and individuals with disabilities in Chinese social welfare institutes is needed, as well as efforts to disrupt social stigma around disabilities in the country.
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