A pair of Alabama federal lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation during National Adoption Month to better protect adoptive families, children and expectant mothers.
The Adoption Deserves Oversight, Protection and Transparency (ADOPT) Act requires adoption providers and attorneys to only operate in states where they are licensed. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, introduced the bill in the House while Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, introduced the Senate version earlier this month.
“Every child deserves the chance to find a loving, forever home in a safe and ethical way,” Aderholt said in a statement. “For too long, unlicensed intermediaries have exploited vulnerable birth mothers and prospective adoptive parents. The ADOPT Act ensures that adoption providers operate aboveboard and within the law.”
The legislation prohibits adoption advertising and restricts payments to expectant mothers unless they are made through a licensed provider in the state where the expectant mother lives.
“I believe it is incumbent upon Congress to ensure loving parents pursuing adoption to grow their families, expectant mothers working with adoption providers, and children are protected from bad actors seeking to take advantage of the adoption process,” Britt said in a statement.
Adoption organizations, including the National Council For Adoption, Ethical Family Building, and the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, have endorsed the bill.
“The ADOPT Act will spare prospective adoptive families—many of whom consider adoption after a painful infertility journey—time, resources and the heartbreak that so often accompanies signing with a predatory, unlicensed adoption intermediary,” Ryan Hanlon, president and CEO of National Council For Adoption, said.
Reps. Danny K. Davis, D-IL, Laurel Lee, R-FL, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-CA, are also sponsoring the legislation in the House.