Brain, Child :: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers

The Myth of the Forever Family

When Adoption Falls Apart

(The names of the adoptive parents and their children have been changed as have some identifying characteristics to protect the privacy of the families.)

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by DAWN FRIEDMAN

When we adopted our daughter, Madison, six years ago, the judge was clear. Legally, adoption bound our daughter to our family as if she had been born to us. She would have the same rights as our biological son. We owed her the same level of commitment. A few weeks later, Madison’s amended birth certificate would arrive, with my name as her birth mother and my husband’s name as her birth father. All of her original birth records would be locked up, sealed away, inaccessible. At the end of the brief ceremony, the judge banged his gavel and officially pronounced us—in the language of the mainstream adoption community—“a forever family.”

via brainchildmag.com