Adoption can be divided into several different categories based on who is adopting, who is being adopted, how the adoption is facilitated, where the adoption takes place, and how much privacy the adoption entails. Each type of adoption presents advantages and disadvantages and each poses different legal requirements and concerns. The three primary categories of adoption include international, domestic, and embryo adoption.
What is International (Intercountry) Adoption?
- International adoption involves the adoption of children who are citizens of a different country than the adoptive parents.
- Along with the normal state and federal laws that apply to all domestic adoptions, international adoptions involve the laws of foreign countries and international treaties.
- International adoptions require immigration approval from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
What is Domestic Adoption?
- Domestic adoption involves the placing of a child for adoption within the same country of the child’s birth or residence.
- Domestic adoption is primarily governed by state statutes, which prescribe the conditions, rights, and responsibilities of adoption agreements. Therefore, domestic adoption options often vary from state to state.
- For more information on domestic adoption, please see Focus on the Family’s “Domestic Adoption” site.
What is Embryo Adoption?
· Embryo adoption is defined as the process whereby embryos produced from the sperm and egg of one couple are adopted by another pregnancy-challenged couple. Adopted embryos are implanted in the uterus of the birth (adopting) mother, who is then able to experience childbirth with the adopted embryo.
· For more information on embryo adoption, please see Nightlight Christian Adoptions’ Snowflakes Program site.
