A bill (H.R. 2909) designed to implement a treaty on international adoption was cleared, by unanimous consent, by the Senate on September 20. The measure received voice vote approval in the House on September 18. Originally approved by the House on July 18, the bill was amended and approved by the Senate on July 27 (see The Source, 7/31/00).
Under the treaty, The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, agencies that arrange international adoptions would be required to provide full records to parents, basic instruction for dealing with previously institutionalized children, and preparation of parents for potential health issues, such as fetal alcohol syndrome often found in babies from the former Soviet Union. Sixty-six nations began negotiations in 1991 and completed the treaty in 1993. Since then, it has been signed and ratified by 35 countries, but not ratified by 12 others—including the United States.
The bill would:
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In addition, the House approved the bill on September 18 with an amendment pertaining to U.S. citizens who are related to a child they are seeking to adopt from another country. In an effort to address possible fraud, the Attorney General would review cases involving an adoptee whose birth parents are also in the process of immigrating to the United States.
Discussing the measure on the House floor, Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-NY), sponsor of H.R. 2909, said the amendment would ensure “that the purpose of a particular adoption is to form a bona fide parent/child relationship, and the parent/child relationship of the child and the natural parents has been terminated.”
