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Open versus Closed Adoption
Gray, Emily
Gray, Emily
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Abstract
An adoption takes place for several reasons, as a result of an unwanted pregnancy, lack of
a proper home environment or numerous other reasons. Three main steps are taken when a child
is adopted: the child must be legally separated from their birth parents; the child is transferred to
the custody of a qualified adoption agency; and the final step involves the transfer of parents’
rights and responsibilities. Here a crucial decision must be made about open or closed adoption.
With open adoption, the birth parents will have involvement in the raising of the child as well as
communication with the adoptive family during the child’s life (Adoption, 2008). If a closed
adoption is chosen, the birth parents lose all custody and visitation rights. In this situation both
sets of parents remain anonymous to each other and any documents from either set of parents are
kept private (Clinton, 1996). A choice of open versus closed adoption must be carefully
considered. Nurses may care for parents facing such a dilemma, and should be knowledgeable
about both open and closed adoption. While a nurse is not directly involved in the adoption
process, he or she is a constant and trusted caregiver with frequent direct contact with patients
needing help in acquiring information to make a decision. The purpose of this paper is to discuss
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The Journal of Undergraduate Nursing Writing Volume 3, Number 1, October 2009
the positives and negatives of placing a child in a closed adoption arrangement as opposed to an
open arrangement.
Description
Date
2009-07-02