As conditions in Haiti worsen, AAAA issued a press release today urging the Department of State to evacuate and parole seventy Haitian orphans who are being adopted by US citizen families to secure their safety while the adoption process is completed.

“There is an urgent need for the children to enter the United States and a clear and safe path for them to do so though humanitarian parole. As the Central Adoption Authority for the United States, the U.S. State Department, should and must act in the best interests of these children to safeguard them against unnecessary harm,” said AAAA President Sherriann Hicks.

To read the full press release, click HERE.

Today, AAAA issued the following press release reacting to the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision regarding the status of embryos.

IVF patients should have the right to make personal decisions regarding their health care and family building without governmental interference.

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The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) is a credentialed, nonprofit organization of approximately 500 attorneys, judges, and law professors throughout the United States, Canada and abroad. Our Fellows are distinguished in the legal fields of adoption and assisted reproductive technology. We support and advocate for the rights of individuals to form legally secure families. Understanding the intersection of reproductive technology medicine and the law, AAAA is dedicated to the ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology law and to advancing policy that promotes equitable access to fertility care.

AAAA is deeply concerned and dismayed over the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling allowing for a wrongful death claim to be asserted in a dispute over cryopreserved embryos. “While we hope that the Alabama legislature takes steps to immediately address the widespread implications of this opinion, any legislative correction to this chilling effect on IVF must include both the ability to pursue this medical treatment and for all related decision making to remain exclusively between the patient(s) and their physician without government interference. These decisions include all agreements regarding the cryopreservation and disposition of any embryos created during IVF treatment,” stated Nidhi Desai, Director of ART Policy for AAAA.

Margaret Swain, President of AAAA, underscored the human impact of the court decision: “It is difficult to fully appreciate the anguish of Alabama fertility patients who cannot now move forward with their hopes to have children.”

AAAA remains committed to education and advocacy to protect the patient-physician relationship regarding family building.

AAAA is headquartered in Greenwood, Indiana. For more information, visit us at adoptionart.org.

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Printable Copy of the Full Press Release: AL Supreme Court Decision Press Release(2024)

During National Adoption Month, Klobuchar, Cramer Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Raise Adoption Awareness, Support Adoptive Families

November 16, 2023

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Senate co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption, introduced two pieces of bipartisan legislation – the Supporting Adopted Children & Families Act and a resolution to mark November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day – to increase support for adoptive families and raise awareness about adoption.

The resolution to mark November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day passed the Senate on November 16.

“We’re grateful for the dedication and commitment of adoptive families who open their homes and hearts to children,” said Klobuchar. “Every child deserves a safe, stable, and loving place to call home. That’s why as co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, I will continue to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to raise awareness about adoption and improve the adoption process for families and children across our country.”

“As adoptive parents, my wife Kris and I are keenly aware of the many blessings of adoption. It is crucial to pass policies ensuring children receive the support and unconditional love of a permanent family,” said Cramer. “Recognizing National Adoption Month and Day is an important opportunity to promote adoption, and these pieces of legislation will offer adoptive families and their children the resources and support before, during, and after the process.”

Klobuchar and Cramer introduced the Supporting Adopted Children & Families Act to provide pre- and post-adoption resources, including mental health treatment, to support adoptive families. This legislation will promote:

• Training and counseling on behavioral issues, including issues relating to emotional, behavioral, or developmental health needs;
• Peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups that permit a new adoptive parent to communicate and learn from more experienced adoptive parents, including programs that enhance communication between adoptive parents with children of similar geographic, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds;
• Treatment services specialized for adopted children, including psychiatric residential services, outpatient mental health services, social skills training, intensive in-home supervision services, recreational therapy, suicide prevention, and substance abuse treatment; and
• Crisis and family preservation services, including crisis counseling and a 24-hour emergency hotline for adoptive parents.

Klobuchar and Cramer also introduced a bipartisan resolution marking November as National Adoption Month and November 18 as National Adoption Day to raise awareness about adoption, recognize that every child should have a permanent and loving family, and encourage the people of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and throughout the year. This resolution passed the Senate on November 16.

The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Baldwin (D-WI), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennet (D-CO), Blackburn (R-TN), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Boozman (R-AR), Braun (R-IN), Capito (R-WV), Casey (D-PA), Collins (D-ME), Cornyn (R-TX), Crapo (R-ID), Daines (R-MT), Duckworth (D-IL), Durbin (R-IL), Fischer (R-NE), Grassley (R-IA), Hagerty (R-TN), Hassan (D-NH), Hoeven (R-ND), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), King (I-ME), Lankford (R-OK), Lummis (R-WY), Manchin (D-WV), Mullin (R-OK), Risch (R-ID), Rosen (D-NV), Rubio (R-FL), Scott (R-FL), Scott (R-SC), Smith (D-MN), Stabenow (D-MI), Thune (R-SD), Tuberville (R-AL), Van Hollen (D-MD), Warren (D-MA), Whitehouse (D-RI), Wicker (R-MS), and Wyden (D-OR). The resolution is led in the House by Representatives Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Adam Smith (D-WA), the House co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption.

Full text of the resolution is available HERE.

As co-chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, Klobuchar and Cramer have led efforts to give every child a permanent home and improve the adoption process. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) is the largest bipartisan, bicameral caucus in Congress. CCA brings together members of Congress from both parties who share the goal of  ensuring all children know the love and support of a family through legal permanency in the forms of adoption, guardianship, and kinship care.

In March 2023, Klobuchar and Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) reintroduced the Tribal Adoption Parity Act to provide tribal governments with parity in accessing the adoption tax credit.

In June 2021, provisions of Klobuchar and former Senator Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) legislation to protect adopted children from unregulated custody transfers passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

In November 2020, Klobuchar and Blunt’s legislation to provide updated and timely information to help American families trying to adopt internationally passed the Senate. Later that month, the senators encouraged the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services to raise awareness for National Adoption Month and for the importance of domestic and intercountry adoption.

Klobuchar and Blunt also partnered on the Accuracy for Adoptees Act, which became law in early 2014. This legislation cuts red tape for adoptive families and ensures that corrections made to adoptees’ state vital records would be recognized by the federal government.

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