ABSTRACT
Central to this chapter on the likely future of adoption is an awareness that the ‘closed’ ‘fresh start’ model of adoption, still dominant in much western thinking, is essentially Eurocentric and of very short duration in the total history of the informal and formal adoptive family. It will start by considering the global context of the future of adoption for the key stakeholders: birth parents and relatives; children; families considering adoption; and agencies responsible for securing the welfare of children in need. Since the passing of the Adoption Act 1926 (the basic philosophical stance of which has not been substantially altered by subsequent UK legislation) the world has become more intimately connected. From the Oedipus myth and the story of Moses, adoption has always been, at least in part, about children as a commodity, bringing potential benefit to the adoptive family; and as a threat to the personal safety or future prosperity and wellbeing of the birth family. In a minority of cases it has been about greed (selling a child to the highest bidder) exploitation and victimisation of children through domestic slavery or pornography. Last, and happily in the majority of cases, it has been about altruism, whether that means giving up a child to save his or her life or ensure a better life, or taking into one’s home a child needing special care and commitment.
