Synopses & Reviews
When Jessie Hawkinsandrsquo; adopted daughter told her she had another mom back in Ethiopia, Jessie didnandrsquo;t, at first, know what to think. Sheandrsquo;d wanted her adoption to be great story about a child who needed a home and got one, and a family led by God to adopt. Instead, she felt like sheandrsquo;d done something wrong.
Adoption has long been enmeshed in the politics of reproductive rights, pitched as a andldquo;win-winandrdquo; compromise in the never-ending abortion debate. But as Kathryn Joyce makes clear in The Child Catchers, adoption has lately become even more entangled in the conservative Christian agenda.
To tens of millions of evangelicals, adoption is a new front in the culture wars: a test of andldquo;pro-lifeandrdquo; bona fides, a way for born again Christians to reinvent compassionate conservatism on the global stage, and a means to fulfill the andldquo;Great Commissionandrdquo; mandate to evangelize the nations. Influential leaders fervently promote a new andldquo;orphan theology,andrdquo; urging followers to adopt en masse, with little thought for the families these andldquo;orphansandrdquo; may already have.
Conservative evangelicals control much of that industry through an infrastructure of adoption agencies, ministries, political lobbying groups, and publicly-supported andldquo;crisis pregnancy centers,andrdquo; which convince women not just to andldquo;choose life,andrdquo; but to choose adoption. Overseas, conservative Christians preside over a spiraling boom-bust adoption market in countries where people are poor and regulations weak, and where hefty adoption fees provide lots of incentive to increase the andldquo;supplyandrdquo; of adoptable children, recruiting andldquo;orphansandrdquo; from intact but vulnerable families.
The Child Catchers is a shocking exposandeacute; of what the adoption industry has become and how it got there, told through deep investigative reporting and the heartbreaking stories of individuals who became collateral damage in a market driven by profit and, now, pulpit command.
Anyone who seeks to adoptandmdash;of whatever faith or no faith, and however well-meaningandmdash;is affected by the evangelical adoption movement, whether they know it or not. The movement has shaped the way we think about adoption, the language we use to discuss it, the places we seek to adopt from, and the policies and laws that govern the process. In The Child Catchers, Kathryn Joyce reveals with great sensitivity and empathy why, if we truly care for children, we need to see more clearly. and#160;
Review
Erin Siegal, author of Finding Fernanda“
The Child Catchers shatters conceptions about how and why Americans adopt, bringing us inside the often-misunderstood Christian adoption movement. Joyce's graceful prose deftly exposes the connections between adoption trade groups, the religious right, and U.S. policy makers, while delicately revealing a horrific series of ongoing crimes and misdeeds perpetrated against children. A timely, important book.”
Debbie Nathan, journalist, co-author of Satan’s Silence; author of Women and Other Aliens, Pornography, and Sybil Exposed“In this chilling expose that promises to become a muckraker classic, Kathryn Joyce rips the veil off a sacrosanct institution in America and other rich nations: international adoption. She exposes not just black- and grey-market practices—though she finds plenty of both in evangelical-Christian institutions piously claiming to rescue orphans from poor countries. More profoundly, though, Joyce reveals how secular, squeaky-clean adoption can also do harm, not just to individual birth mothers and adoptees, but to the progress of children’s and women’s rights globally. The Child Catchers is essential reading for adoptive parents, those thinking about adopting, and anyone concerned with democracy—nationally and throughout the world.”
Review
Erin Siegal, author of Finding Fernanda“
The Child Catchers shatters conceptions about how and why Americans adopt, bringing us inside the often-misunderstood Christian adoption movement. Joyce's graceful prose deftly exposes the connections between adoption trade groups, the religious right, and U.S. policy makers, while delicately revealing a horrific series of ongoing crimes and misdeeds perpetrated against children. A timely, important book.”
Debbie Nathan, journalist, co-author of Satan’s Silence; author of Women and Other Aliens, Pornography, and Sybil Exposed“In this chilling expose that promises to become a muckraker classic, Kathryn Joyce rips the veil off a sacrosanct institution in America and other rich nations: international adoption. She exposes not just black- and grey-market practices—though she finds plenty of both in evangelical-Christian institutions piously claiming to rescue orphans from poor countries. More profoundly, though, Joyce reveals how secular, squeaky-clean adoption can also do harm, not just to individual birth mothers and adoptees, but to the progress of children’s and women’s rights globally. The Child Catchers is essential reading for adoptive parents, those thinking about adopting, and anyone concerned with democracy—nationally and throughout the world.”
Kirkus Reviews“Joyce broadens the understanding of adoption's conundrums, not only within the United States, but also internationally, with deep investigations of children from Liberia, Ethiopia, Korea, Rwanda, Haiti and China…Groundbreaking investigative and explanatory reporting.”
Anthea Butler, University of Pennsylvania“Kathryn Joyce’s book The Child Catchers is a compelling, meticulously researched, and insightful dissection of Conservative Christians and their participation in the international adoption complex. Joyce unmasks this new fertile ‘mission field’ of children, defined by a labyrinth of adoption agencies, organizations, and activists. By unmasking the truth behind many of these ‘adoptions’ of children with loving but impoverished families, Joyce gives voice to the children hurt by this neo-colonial Christian mission. The Child Catchers is an important must-read in order to understand the business of adoption, and the pain that can befall the child’s biological family, the child and, at times, the adoptive family.”
Jeff Sharlet, bestselling author of The Family and C Street“The Child Catchers takes us for a fast and frightening ride down a road to hell that’s paved with ‘good intentions,’ yes, but also with willful ignorance and worse, outright deception. Joyce’s story—that of a new, religiously driven ‘baby scoop’ that amounts to a massive redistribution of children from the poor to the affluent—requires no sensationalism. The facts, presented here with care and fair-mindedness, are terrifying enough. And Joyce’s analysis, calm and powerfully perceptive, is devastating. May this book stand as a landmark work of investigative journalism.”
Jessica Valenti, founder of Feministing.com and author of Purity Myth and Why Have Kids“Kathryn Joyce’s investigation into the rise of the Christian adoption movement is both fascinating and disturbing. In chronicling this mission to ‘save’ children from their home countries and perceived hardships, Joyce moves beyond the feel-good headlines to reveal a truth that most American media seems to have missed. The Child Catchers fills an important gap in the national conversation not just about adoption—but about imperialism and feminism as well.”
Kirkus, STARRED“Groundbreaking investigative and explanatory reporting”
Boston Globe“Razor-sharp”
Library Journal“This intricate investigation of adoption ethics and religion is an incisive, evenhanded corrective to the view of child adoption as benign and salvific….Grim but now downbeat, Joyce’s reporting also indicates signs of hope for reform….This exemplary study deserves a wide audience among all readers involved with adoption, from policymakers to prospective adoptive families.”
Synopsis
Adoption has long been enmeshed in the politics of abortion. But as award-winning journalist Kathryn Joyce makes clear in
The Child Catchers, adoption has lately become entangled in the conservative Christian agenda. To tens of millions of evangelicals, adoption has become a new front in the culture wars: a test of pro-life” bonafides, a way to reinvent compassionate conservatism on the global stage, and a means to fulfill the Great Commission” mandate that Christians evangelize the nations. Influential leaders fervently promote a new orphan theology,” urging followers to adopt en masse, with little thought for the families these orphans” may actually have. Christian adoption activists have added moral weight to a multi-billion dollar adoption industry intent on increasing the supply” of adoptable children, both at home and overseas.
The Child Catchers is a shocking exposé of what the adoption industry has become and how it got there, told through deep investigative reporting and the heartbreaking stories of individuals who found that their own, and their childrens, well-being was ultimately irrelevant in a market driven by profit and now, pulpit command.
About the Author
Kathryn Joyce is a freelance writer based in New York City and author of Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement. Her work has appeared in The Nation, Mother Jones, Salon, The Harvard Divinity Bulletin, The American Prospect, The Massachusetts Review, Newsweek.com and Religion Dispatches, among other publications, and she has been a guest commentator on a number of television and radio shows including NPRs Morning Edition” and Interfaith Voices.” She has been awarded residencies and fellowship support from the MacDowell Colony, Kopkind Colony, the Nation Institute Investigative Fund, and, most recently, was named a 2011 Knight Luce Fellow.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: The Baby Scoop Era: U.S. Adoption History
CHAPTER 2: Shotgun Adoption: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
CHAPTER 3: Sent Away: Modern-Day Maternity Homes
CHAPTER 4: Adoption is War”: The Growth of Orphan Theology
CHAPTER 5: Haiti and the Orphan Rescue Market
CHAPTER 6: Broken Open Adoptions
CHAPTER 7: The National Council for Adoption: Lobbying for Classroom
Adoptions
CHAPTER 8: Utahs Baby Warehouse”: State Laws and Shopping Around
CHAPTER 9: Paternity Rights: Putative Father Registries
CHAPTER 10: Adoption Seekers Will Be Banned”
CHAPTER 11: Adoption Reformers