Wednesday, November 7, 2007

In her Nov. 4 op-ed "Slamming the Door on Adoption," Elizabeth Bartholet spoke compassionately and convincingly for homeless children abroad as she made her case for international adoptions.

But one could also emphasize that the ballooning demand for children by well-to-do parents in the developed world can go hand in hand with corruption, compromised adoption regulations and the disenfranchisement of birth parents in the weak institutional settings of the adoptees' countries.

As a resource-rich adoptive parent in the United States who was raised in an area of India with many destitute families, I care deeply that both the rich and the poor are treated fairly. Until advocates of international adoption make an equally pressing case for increased scrutiny in the impoverished countries where most adoptees come from, opinions such as Ms. Bartholet's may be viewed as lobbying efforts for an already mobilized community of wealthy prospective adoptive parents.

SHARMILA CHOUDHURY

Washington