In the United States, 25,000 adopted children are resold each year: "Here, it's satisfaction guaranteed or your money back."
In the United States, an adopted child can be resold online like an object. This system, called rehoming, affects 25,000 children each year, transferred to other families without any oversight. A scandal that reveals the serious flaws in the American system.
Behind the facade of adoption in the United States lies a sordid reality: adopted children are being resold online as mere objects . This system, known as rehoming , allows adoptive parents to part with a child by giving them to another family without any oversight from the authorities . A frightening practice that affects approximately 25,000 children each year and takes advantage of a worrying legal loophole .
Rehoming: A market for unsupervised adopted children
In many US states, adopting a child requires only a few days of training and a clean criminal record. But if parents feel the child doesn't meet their expectations , they can simply resell them online . Private agencies, operating without any official regulation , offer platforms where children are listed with photos, detailed descriptions, and even prices . "Here, it's a money-back guarantee. After adopting a child, you can decide you don't want them anymore." - Seven to Eight.
- Price of a "resold" child : between 3,500 and 5,000 dollars , or half the price of a traditional adoption.
- Methods used : online catalogs , adoption parades ( Meet the Kids ), and children's fairs , where children must parade in front of families ready to "test" them.
- Process : After adoption speed dating , the child can be placed with a new family in just a few days.
Children exposed to extreme dangers
The consequences of this system are dramatic. No checks are carried out on new families, which exposes these children to serious dangers . Some end up with abusive parents , others fall victim to pedophile networks , as revealed by a Reuters investigation in 2013 , which identified more than 5,000 advertisements for children being exchanged between individuals .
Director Sophie Przychodny documented this phenomenon in the film "United States: Disposable Children ," highlighting the gaping flaws in the American system and the distress of children being bounced from family to family . "In the United States, an adopted child is not protected like a biological child. They can be returned and placed elsewhere, without any social support or judicial oversight." – Patricia Chalon, a psychologist specializing in adoption
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Why such a legal vacuum?
Unlike France , where adoption is regulated with strict monitoring , the United States gives adoptive parents a great deal of freedom . This ultra-liberal adoption market relies on private agencies and religious associations , without federal regulation. Some states do not even check the background of new adopters , which facilitates abuse and placements in dangerous homes . Each year, according to Sept à huit , one in four adoptions is canceled , or 25,000 children returned to social services or transferred to another family. An unthinkable situation in Europe .
A scandal that arouses indignation
This human trafficking is becoming increasingly shocking. Activists and associations are calling for strict regulation of the system , but lobbying by adoption agencies is holding back any reform. In the meantime, thousands of children continue to be passed from family to family , with no guarantee of protection or a stable future. Will the United States finally be able to put an end to this shameful system?