International: An Era of Chinese Adoption Ends, and Families Are Torn Over Its Legacy (Commentary) (Requires subscription) (Includes audio)

New York Times – September 15, 2024

China announced this month that it was halting nearly all foreign adoptions, marking the end of a program that forged several generations of American families. More than 82,000 Chinese children have been adopted in the United States since 1992, around the time the program began, according to the State Department. Several of those adoptive families said they were glad that the program was coming to an end, recognizing that it was a glaring byproduct of a harsh policy restricting many Chinese families from having more than one child. Though most treasure their adoptive experience, many also see the program’s abuses and the underlying trauma that came from removing children from their birth parents and culture.