Adoption?

[Reido]

I'm not quite ready to be a parent just yet, nor is my significant other, at least not for another few years.
However, we have decided that if we do ever become parents, we want to adopt a girl.
Making a baby, so to speak, as a nearly definite no for us.
Not only are we both asexual, but I would not want her to have to go through the stress and pain of pregnancy and chilbirth.
I know some people don't see it that way, instead viewing pregnancy as a good/beautiful thing, but that's just not the way we see it.

So I'd like to know how easy/difficult it is to adopt a child, what steps we'd have to take to do so, and just general information on adopting a child.
If anyone has any info or advice, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Amielou]

I am not sure how it is where you are, but here in Australia there are adoption agencies you register with and they contact you when a child is available that matches what you are looking for, it is expensive (paper work and legals etc) and time consuming (some couples never get a child because there aren't any available or there are too many couples above them on the list) there is also adoption from other countries, this can be even more expensive but depending on the country you either visit an orfanage or the local adoption people.

hope this helps, maybe ring your local child services group and they can send you some information?

 

[heather]

Here in PA, you can register with an agency. It costs between $13,000 and $20,000 to adopt an infant. Some agencies require you to be married for a certain length of time and to have gone through infertility testing to prove that you are unable to have your own child. Other agencies don't care if this is your first or your fifth, whether you are gay or straight, married or single or living with someone, or if you are able to have children. If you decide to adopt a child from foster care, the state tries to make it as low cost as possible. Sometimes, it's free to adopt from foster care. In PA, you can also take over legal guardianship of unused embryos. This costs the same as normal in-vetro fertilization plus the cost of testing the donor parents for blood-borne pathogens. After this, the eggs are transplanted into the uterus, and you have a pregnancy as long as the eggs "take" and when the child is born, you are considered the birth parents. The donor parents do not get paid for the embryos and they have no legal claim to the child once the initial paper-work is signed. They do (as do the parents of infants you adopt) have the right to choose whether or not you are the right fit for their child(ren).

 

[Reido]

Thank you both for your help. :nod
I think we'd prefer adopting from foster care. We live in the U.S, in NY(the state) now, and chances are we still will when we do decide to try to adopt.
I guess I'll just have to find out how it's done here.
But I imagine it's probably not much different than in PA.

 

[Gabe]

...I think we'd prefer adopting from foster care....

I just want to say how great I think your choice is. I'm not dating or married, but if I were to be married in the future it would have to be to someone who is willing to adopt a child/children from foster care. There are so many vulnerable children out there and they all deserve a family.

 

[heather]

Gabriel, I agree. I've been looking for a toddler. I was thinking about an older child, but since I'm only in my early 20's, I don't think I would be enough of a parental figure for that child.

 

[Reido]

...I think we'd prefer adopting from foster care....

I just want to say how great I think your choice is. I'm not dating or married, but if I were to be married in the future it would have to be to someone who is willing to adopt a child/children from foster care. There are so many vulnerable children out there and they all deserve a family.

Well thank you.
That is a big part of our choice, is that we want to help a child who really needs us.