The Solomon's Choice of Legislative & Judicial Activism: When Social Justice for Adoptees & Donor-Conceived People Comes at the Price of Reunions

1. Decision Points & the Rule of Law
Do we wait for "clean bills" that delay passage, perhaps indefinitely, or do we introduce compromises that could establish precedents for roadblocks that didn't exist before? (birth-parent vetoes, confidential mediators, year-based exceptions)
Referendums vs. federal test cases vs. State bills vs. national-level Executive Orders
Data ownership, including "non-identifying information" and "identifying information" from both EU and US regulatory frameworks. This includes rules on data preservation and destruction with implications for reunion by donor-conceived and adopted people.
Three specific examples of decision points and impacts: Indian Child Welfare Act; the RICO (racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations) Act; and the clarification of HIPPA (healthcare portability and privacy act) by its Security Rule.

2. The privacy argument & the Supreme Court over time
The rise of "best interests of the child" interpretations of right to privacy. Privacy's evolution with Roe v Wade, to RBG questioning SCOTUS' role in social/privacy rulings at the federal instead of state level to "birthright" legislation in opposition to .
Big data's impact and the 20-year shift from viewing Big Tech as neutral provider to gatekeeper in both DNA testing and social media.
Balancing perceived threats such as undermining parental roles, disintegration of family integrity, or a "surveillance state" vs. time-based regulatory approach to information ownership.

3. Savvy Incrementalism or Last-Man-in-the-Life-Raft syndrome?
Case study: Evolving "rights" of birth-fathers and "anonymous sperm donors".

4. Timed conversation: Search Angels, Conscientious Objectors, or Mob Methods
Interactive ethical conversation using several examples at the clinical/family level: law enforcement; child support; informed consent; inheritance; and the Mormon church.

Conclusion: Social Justice Goals: Precedent, Empowerment, or Reunion? Summary of the values at stake.

Background: In the United States, the first adult-led Korean Adoptee groups emerged in the 1990s during a time when the largest waves of overseas adoptees from South Korea were entering young adulthood. Research on Korean adoptee-led groups is emerging, with scholars in anthropology, education, ethnic studies, sociology, and the humanities seeking to situate these groups within the geopolitical contexts of their birth and adoptive nations. Less examined, is the relationship between participation in such mutual-aid groups on adult adoptee outcomes. The purpose of this presentation is to: (1) provide a brief history of Korean adoptee-led groups in the USA; (2) review the theoretical and empirical literature about such groups; and (3) present preliminary findings from a national study exploring the nature of U.S.-based Korean Adoptee-led groups and adoptees' participation on adult outcome (physical health, mental health, identity, and well-being).


Methods:  The preliminary findings are based on a mixed methods (QUANT, qual), cross-sectional study of adopted adults (18+) in the U.S., with purposive sampling of adoptees who participate in Korean adoptee led groups (80% of the organization leadership are adoptees). An online survey was distributed by Korean adoptee led groups to their members with follow-up qualitative interviews of survey participants. Preliminary quantitative data analysis presented will include descriptive, bivariate, and correlational statistics using SAS 9.0 and qualitative data analysis of emerging themes.


Implications: In this study, Korean adoptee-led groups are theorized to be spaces of mutual aid and self-help. It is hypothesized that participation in such mutual aid groups can positively impact adoptees sense of empowerment, belonging, and identity; therefore, they are a critical resource for addressing social injustices in adoption practices, which have historically been driven by adoption professionals and adoptive parents and excluded adoptees' agency.

The transnational adoption system has facilitated the adoption of over 200,000 children, nearly half of whom are children from Asia (US State Department). In the past two decades, adoptee-centered and written scholarship has increased substantially beyond the disciplines where it is most commonly found: psychology and social work. However, much of this research has been an in-depth analysis of just one particular ethnic group within the Asian Adoptee umbrella. I offer a comparative sociological analysis rooted in the scholarship of Jennifer Lee and Karthik Ramakrishnan's "diversity-convergence paradox", Mary Waters' "ethnic options" and Mark Granovetter's "weak-tie" theory and apply it to a study of three Asian adoptee groups: Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese adoptees to explore how they view and understand their identities as adopted Asians in the United States. Transnational, transracial adoptees move not only across ethnic/racial boundaries but also across socio-political/geopolitical ones. Reflecting on 12 in-depth interviews with Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese adoptees located throughout the United States I probe the following question: How has the country of origin, the racialization of Asian Americans, and social networks contributed to transnational, Asian American adoptee's identity salience? Preliminary findings suggest that a salient adoptee identity is dependent on two factors: close-ties with other adoptees, and feelings of marginality as an Asian American. Asian adoptees form close-ties through in-person and virtual interaction with other adoptees via cultural experiences, personal friendships, and adoptee organization affiliations. Adoptees also express sentiments of being "in-between worlds" in terms of their ethnoracial belonging that spurs further affiliation with the term adoptee.