Adoption.com, solely owned and operated by entrepreneur, Nathan Gwilliam, is a money-making venture that provides resources such as blogs, forums and chats for anyone with an interest in any aspect of adoption - and does so for one purpose only: to support their advertisers who profit from adoption placements. Neither the bloggers, nor their "editors" - who are paid by Adoption.com - apply any restrictions on attacks, libel or slander contrary to their own rules. They are rude to anyone who disagrees.
Parents and Professionals for Family Preservation and Protection is opposed to the purpose of this site, its advertisers, and its practices and urges all who are truly interested in preserving families to boycott Adoption.com and its affiliates.
The site exists to promote infant adoption to fill a demand by those who pay for babies thus commodifying children and often exploiting their mothers. Many of the advertisers are unregulated adoption businesses and facilitators, some of which have been investigated for corrupt practices. Their paying clients are prospective adopters, and therefore they deny expectant mothers informed consent, objective option counseling, and separate legal counsel.
The advertisings glamorize relinquishment with lies and coercion - such as photo listings of families seeking to adopt with phrases such as "find the perfect parents for your child" and do not ensure informed option counseling, legal counseling or any other protections for such women. Parenting ones own child is a right protected by our constitution and children's right to remain with their family is protected by UNICEF's CRC which states that adoption should always be a "last resort," not promoted for profit.
Adoption reformers who have been lured into using this site which profits adoption practitioners of questionable ethical standards need to stand on the side of ethics in adoption and boycott this commercial endeavor to capitalize on the pain of adoption losses while assisting in the increased proliferation of exploitation and corruption in adoption. This site promotes adoptions which permanently deny adoptees the right to knowledge of their families. Some promote so-called "open adoption" to lure expectant mothers without informing them that any such promises of post adoption contact are unenforceable and that states falssify birth certificates stating that the child was born to his adoptive parents. Original birth certificates are sealed from the adoptee for life in 46 states, so that if an open adoption closes - as many do - the adoptee has no way of knowing the truth of his birth and reunification may well be impossible.
We join and support an already existing boycott of Adoption.com by PotentialParents.com. Our support of the boycott against Adoption.com in no way is meant to imply support of any other goal of PotentionalParents.com nor the rights of gays, or anyone else, to adopt. Our interest in this is mutual only in boycotting Adoption.com.
The purpose of adoption is to find the best possible family to meet the needs of orphans and children needing permanent care, not to find children for anyone who wants one, thus, we do not support anyone's "right" to adopt a child. Supporting this boycott are: Parents and Professionals for Family Preservation and Protection www.PPFFPP.org; OriginsUSA.org; www.AdvocatePublications.com; www.TwiceLost.org; www.BirthParentProject.org; ; www.FamilyPreservation.blogspot.org; AmyAdoptee.blogspot.org.; potentialparents.org
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: Boycott Adoption.com
Author of "shedding light on...The Dark Side of Adoption" (1988) and "The Stork Market: America's Multi-Billion Dollar Unregulated Adoptuion Industry" (2007) www.AdvocatePublciations.org
MIRAH (aka Marsha) RIBEN has been researching, writing and speaking about the need to reform, humanize, and de-commercialize American adoption practices for nearly three decades.
Former Director-at-Large of the American Adoption Congress, is co-founder of Origins, a New Jersey-based national organization for women who have lost children to adoption.
No less than 5 blogs appearing at Adoptionblogs.com were favorable to her but when another blogger called her out on her criticism of International Adoption, she demanded that blogger be fired.
When that blogger wasn't fired, Mirah started flaming both the blogger and Editor at every possible opportunity.
Her "facts" about Adoption.com are incorrect from the very beginning of this poorly researched piece where she states that Adoption.com is a sole proprietorship. It only gets more creative from there.
The websites she lists here as supporting her boycott are all her own websites.
At Adoption.com, we encourage all of our readers and all members of the adoption triad to inform themselves and never take one single source as gospel. I would recommend the same to readers of Mirah Riben's textual rampages.
Lisa Pietsch
Editor, AdoptionBlogs.com
by
LisaP (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 6:56:20 PM
You got me on that one Lisa. I quoted an inacurate source; Adoption.com! The fact is that Nathan was the brianchild, and his Daddy, Dale Gwilliam, invested the money to purchase the Adoption.com domain name, and Nathan continues to run it.
Happier now?
Back to you. Care to prove any of your allgeations?...like your lame claim that I "own": OriginsUSA, AmyAdoptee ...or Potential Parents who started the boycott, not me???
Or maybe the fact that it was my choice not to prositite myself "blogging dollars" for adoption.com? Want to prove your claim that it is otherwise? Cause I've got the emails to the contrary.
Sorry your job is in jeaporady, Lisa. maybe you should have thought of that when you supported libel as a "great blog"? Or, when you tired to explain how international adoption had nothing to do with human trafficking which you claim to oppose, in disagreement with the United Nations.
Bottom line - when you can't impress anyone with facts - dazzle them with BULL! That's your style there and you've brough it here. Get your oppositon on the defense. Good try. Doesn't work.
Let's talk about the purpose of adoption.com and its advertisers, Lisa, and those like you who chose to be paid to write crappy missives to defend an industry that deals in babies as a commodity: Flesh peddlers.
by
adoptauthor (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 8:25:50 PM
HUMAN trafficking is a lucrative business in Uganda, the Great Lakes region and elsewhere, causing concern to the governments and security agencies.
Two orphanages in Uganda are being investigated in connection to the scam, the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, said yesterday.
Kayihura was speaking at the first regional conference on anti-human trafficking in Eastern Africa at the Speke Resort Munyonyo. He added that he had received a call that morning about an orphanage suspected to be involved in trafficking of orphans outside the country.
He said the ministry had been alerted to the increasing number of passport applications for fostered children, mostly by foreigners on short- term visits.
“Such foster orders issued to foreigners on temporary immigration facilities undermine the capacity of the law enforcement to monitor the welfare of the fostered children living abroad,” he said.
by
adoptauthor (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 9:27:19 PM
As a board member of OriginsUSA, let me set the record straight. OriginsUSA is far from being "Mirah Riben's website." As a quick look at our website would tell you, we are a national incorporated organization, affiliated with other Origins organizations in Australia and Canada. When Ms. Riben approached the board of directors and asked if we would support the boycott, we enthusiastically agreed.
Bernadette Wright, Treasurer, OriginsUSA
by
bernw5333 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 comments)
on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 10:16:16 PM
I'm confused by your comment about setting the record straight on Adoption.com. Could you please explain?
OriginsUSA is not Ms. Riben's organization. It can be found here: www.originsusa.org
I don't understand your need to make these kinds of accusations against her. She is speaking the truth and many of us stand behind that truth. It is very clear that some simply don't want to accept the truth. Adoption hurts mothers and their children. It only benefits those who adopt and the adoption industry (and those who work within it).
It is wrong to make false accusations.
Karen Wilson Buterbaugh, Pres., OriginsUSA
by
karenwb (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 comments)
on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 1:12:20 PM
I would like to add that unethical, corrupt adoption practices - which is what I am opposed to - hurts ALL of the parites involved in adoption. Privitaized adoption is so unregulated that there is an invisible (not fine) line betwen reputable agencies and unscrupulous practitioners: used car salesman and flight attendents turned adoption facilitators, 'edcuarors' and "law centers"...who are in the buisness of selling babies....with no trianing or education whatsover in child welfare or social work.
Those of us who speak out have bene labeled anti-adoption. We've been called angry natural mothers and worse. I was persoanlly accused of "bashing" adoptive parentswhen i am colleagues with Kalelly Kiser-Mostrom, L.Anne babb, David L. Smolin and other intelligent, caring adoptive parents who stand with us in fighting for ethical practices in child placements.
Adoption.com exists to support advertisers who promote infant adoption which ignores the needs of chidlren in foster care, many of whom might benefit from permanant, caring fmailies. Adoption.com is owned and operated by father and son with "conservative religious values" as per their terms of servcies.
They are opposed to gays, but not to slip-shod adoptions that hurt all - including those attempting to adopt who are often ripped off by agencies and pratctionera advertised on their pages.
This is why it is being boycotted.
by
adoptauthor (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 comments)
on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 4:30:20 PM
I agree with you wholeheartedly. We have a history, you and I. You obtained the information about my surrendered daughter so that I could find her.I wish that I could say that it has turned out well but there is no relationship between us at all, due to the fact that she was brought up by a hard, cold woman and that worked against me.
So we have both lost our offsprings. I am sorry for your loss and mine. But I do thank you for making it possible to see her.
I applaud you for being able to continue fighting the good fight. My experience took the heart out of me.
I would welcome any reply from you.
Carol Bayard
by
Bayardtom (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 comments)
on Thursday, June 21, 2007 at 1:02:58 PM
