Grassley: China Should Not Go Back on the Promises It Made to Children and Families

Grassley: China Should Not Go Back on the Promises It Made to Children and Families

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is seeking information on China's August 28, 2024, decision to end intercountry adoptions. In letters to the State Department and the Chinese Ambassador, he notes China's announcement has jeopardized adoption prospects for many American families - including in Iowa - who have been stuck in the final stages of the process.

Grassley wrote, in part:

"Parents have been left without instruction or clarity on if the children they have been paired with, named, and are growing a connection with will ever actually get placed in their home. I understand this decision to halt intercountry adoptions is within the [People's Republic of China]'s purview. That said, China should not go back on the promises made to children and families and instead ought to allow for adoptions that have already been in the works to be finalized. Families should be united and children who were paired with a loving home should not be deceived and left in orphanages away from their adoptive parents."

Read his full letters to the State Department and the Chinese Ambassador at the corresponding links. Click HERE to download broadcast-quality video of Grassley discussing this effort.

Background:

Grassley co-chairs the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth and is a longtime adoption advocate. When China continued to suspend its intercountry adoption program following the COVID-19 pandemic, despite opening its borders for business and other activities, Grassley called out the inconsistency. He advocated for stalled adoption processes to resume, so children and families could finally unite.

*Note: To protect Iowans' privacy, the enclosures transmitted with the letters are not publicly available.

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