[LisaCA]

the problem with opposing all over-fifty adoptions is where do you draw the line? what if the child has no family but a grandparent, can grandparents over fifty adopt the child? what about if one parent is over fifty but the other isn't? If imminent poor health/death is the issue, what about those can prove a genetic predisposition to longevity? what about those who are actually older but physically younger? (my aunt who smoked several packs a day looked and acted like someone in her 50s (at age 70). The doc refused to believe she was really in her 70s. She died in her mid 70s from breast cancer, and up to the last minute was walking several miles a day, traveling around the world). My mom's side of the family frequently lives to their 80s and beyond, usually healthy til they drop. If they can't adopt infants and toddlers, what age children can they adopt? 5? 7? 10? What if you start the adoption process but don't get a placement til you're 51?

if you prohibit over 50 adoptions, there will be fewer children with homes, and this will particularly impact children of color.

my feeling is that a higher planning burden should be placed on these families, but I'm not comfortable ruling outright.