Media Coverage of Intercountry Adoprion from Guatemala

As individuals concerned about intercountry adoption (ICA) from Guatemala, we call upon the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (F.A.I.R.), the Institute for Public Accuracy and members of the press to address the inaccurate and disparate portrayals of ICA from Guatemala in the media. These portrayals have come in the form of newspaper stories, radio stories, press releases, and statements made by public officials and civil servants both domestically and abroad.


1.) We maintain that these portrayals have been factually inaccurate. Stories have described scenarios that could not occur in any legal adoption from Guatemala. For example:

a. One story, originally printed in Newsday*, described a mothers life being threatened if she refused to relinquish her child for ICA. The woman in the story claimed that the day she gave birth she was locked inside a clinic where a doctor took a saliva sample to use for DNA testing and a lawyer forced her to sign paperwork relinquishing her child because the child would have a better life in the United States. This scenario would not be possible in a legal Guatemalan adoption. In reality, for adoptions to the U.S., DNA tests must be approved by the U.S. Embassy after the formal relinquishment of the child to a Guatemalan Notary. The DNA test itself is conducted by one of two U.S. Embassy approved physicians, where the identification of the birthmother and the child are independently verified, and a photograph is taken of the birthmother holding the child. For ICA to other countries (such as Canada and the UK), a limited number of DNA testing laboratories are approved for studies, and these tests must be conducted with the birthmother and child present. In addition, the Guatemalan adoption process requires that the birthmother assent to the adoption three times after her initial relinquishment and that she be interviewed by a social worker assigned by the Guatemalan Family Court, who assures that the relinquishment was voluntary and the birthmother understands her rights. This interview is conducted without the attorney present. The birthmother has the legal right to reclaim the child at any point before the adoption is final.

b. The Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre printed that the Procurador General de la Naciуn (PGN) had approved 1500 adoptions in ten days after September 16, 2003. This charge was repeated by Guatemala's chief of human rights and used in an attempt to prevent the finalization of any further intercountry adoptions pending Congressional legislation. The U.S. Embassy (the U.S. is the receiving country in approximately 85\% of Guatemalan adoptions) reports that fewer than 150 cases were approved during this time.

2.) We object to the manner in which the stories are sensationalized. First, press reports repeatedly refer to legal intercountry adoptions from Guatemala using derogatory terms like "child trafficking" and "child buying". In addition, private foster homes where most children receive personal attention and sufficient nutrition and shelter are referred to as "crib houses" or fattening houses despite the fact that each foster family can only care for two foster children. Further, the fees associated with ICA are often exaggerated and presented as profit for elite attorneys even though their earnings are significantly lower than the gross country fee paid. Most of the costs are actually associated with providing child-care, medical care, and intensive legal services. In addition, the lawyers earnings per case should be evaluated in the same context as any legal fee from a private law practice in order to avoid incorrectly promoting the idea that there is inappropriate profiteering. It is also troubling that when press reports relay the number of adoptions occurring annually, no mention is made of the socio-economic conditions and inadequacy of government support programs in the country that demonstrate the need for ICA in Guatemala. Finally, stories about ICA from Guatemala often make mention of atrocities like child prostitution, child slavery, and organ harvesting despite the fact that none of these has ever been linked to legal adoption from Guatemala.

3.) We maintain that statements have been misconstrued in their presentations. Statements are commonly used out of context or are edited in such a way that negatively portrays ICA. For example, Roy Hernandez of the CIS (formerly INS) in Guatemala recently gave a press conference about illegal smuggling of Guatemalans into the United States. Press reports linked this to ICA, even though Mr. Hernandez clearly stated that he was not referring to ICA. In addition, adoption advocates have often been misquoted and severely edited when interviewed by the press.

4.) Finally, we feel that the impact of the negative portrayal of Guatemalan ICA is damaging to the children involved. As a result of press coverage, children who have been adopted from Guatemala and their parents have been stigmatized. There have been reports of harassment by people who, after reading newspaper articles, believed that the legal adoption of Guatemalan children might have actually been the result of kidnapping or involuntary relinquishment. In addition, the false rumors about adoption cause politicians to support restrictions to ICA that are detrimental to the children in need and deserving of a loving, stable family.

To combat these negative portrayals, we call upon:

1.) The U.S. Embassy/CIS in Guatemala to issue a press release, call a press conference, and make a formal announcement clarifying that the statements made by Roy Hernandez regarding the illegal smuggling of Guatemalans for child prostitution and slavery were in no way connected with the legal ICA process. In addition, they should publicly clarify the actual number of adoptions that were approved during the ten day period following September 16, 2003 as well as each month since that time.

2.) Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (F.A.I.R) and the Institute for Public Accuracy to investigate the coverage of ICA from Guatemala by the press and take appropriate actions to ensure that future coverage is both objective and accurate.

3.) Members of the press to do a more thorough job of investigation to guarantee journalistic integrity. Before reporting a claim, regardless of the source, it should be examined for plausibility and accuracy. Many of the foes of ICA are organizations and government bodies normally viewed as responsible and ethical. Nonetheless, they are often the source of inaccurate and sensationalized stories. Every journalist has the obligation to understand the ICA system they are reporting about, to speak to all sides of the issue objectively, and to follow up with sources as appropriate.

* Newsday: Robbing the cradle, adoptions under fire in Guatemala. Printed Nov. 3, 2003
** Prensa Libre: Investigarбn a PGN por aprobar 1,500 adopciones. Printed Oct. 1, 2003