[KarynB]

Hello,

I am not sure about the rules from Ireland, but in Canada the rules of adopting from South Africa have gotten quite restrictive. It was once open to singles but is not any longer, it now imposes BMI restrictions as well as age guidelines. From Canada (even though same sex marriage is legal), it is not possible to adopt from SA as a same-sex couple. The program is also beginning to lean towards Christian couples, but this is not an official "rule" yet. It is a fairly conservative country that does not really favour IA...

Anyways - we have adopted from there twice, so if you have any questions about the program feel free to ask. I hope you find something soon that works for you!

I also wanted to say - I would be very cautious in picking which adoption laws you "choose" to follow. There are two reasons for this.

1) You could risk shutting down the entire program if it is found out - agencies could lose licenses, or countires could decide to close to ammend laws to avoid this from happening again. Kids sit in orphanages while all this plays out.

2) Depending on how far you "bend" the rules - you could risk losing your child if it is ever found out. I don't want to go into details here, but I do know of a European couple who were forced to return their adopted child to Kenya after having her for over three years because they circumvented adoption laws.

In recent years international adoption has become more and more restrictive, and while we may not agree with certain countries restrictions, I think we really need to respect the children we are hoping to adopt are their citizens, and they have the right to have rules about this. IA is a gift, not a right.