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Current Adoption Policies Pave the Future for Parental Licensing Criteria
Because of its traditional values South Korean mothers who are unwed are almost always ostracized by the community. “Once you become an unwed mom, you’re branded as immoral and a failure. People treat you as if you had committed a crime. You fall to the bottom rung of society,” explains Lee Mee-kyong, an unwed mother, in an interview with The New York Times. So on January 26th, 1990 when I was born to an unwed woman in Inchon, South Korea, it's not surprising that she decided to give me up for adoption so that we could both have a better life. After learning about my unusual upbringing people often ask me, “Does it upset you knowing that your mother gave you away?” But that is not how I look at it. Instead, I view it as how grateful I am that my parents jumped through hoops, filled out a mountain of paper work, had both their personal and professional lives examined, went through multiple interviews, and traveled over seven thousand miles, all to have me in their lives. I grew up with wonderful, adoring parents, who nurtured and raised me as a child and who still love and support me as a young adult. This makes me wonder: If all parents, both adoptive and biological, had to go through the same rigorous examination that all adoptive parents experience, would
Goplerud 2
the children of future generations benefit?
Licenses are required for many activities and professions to protect the public. In the United States you need a license to drive, carry a gun, practice medicine, get married, and even to cut hair. To obtain any of these licenses the applicant must pass a test among other requirements to prove that they are competent enough to perform the given task. This set of standards both ensures a level of quality and protects the public from complex or potentially harmful activities. But for one of the most important tasks a person can take on, parenting a child, a...