Madonna & Mercy

[Nessie]

@ that photo getting retouched even more

[GregVsMatt]

dailymail suxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...rls-father.html

Madonna isn't fit to adopt my Mercy, claims the girl's father

By Richard Simpson

Last updated at 11:04 PM on 29th April 2009

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Madonna's hopes of adopting a second child from Malawi were dealt a crushing blow last night after the infant's father began a bid to claim full custody.

James Kambewa, 24, said he wanted to spare his three-year-old daughter Mercy a life of 'scandal' with a woman he claimed lacks 'good morals'.

Mr Kambewa, who has never met his daughter after walking out on her mother when she was pregnant, has written a letter to lawyers asking for a permanent injunction against Madonna adopting her.

Adoption bid: Madonna cradles Mercy, three, while on a visit to Malawi

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail last night, Mr Kambewa, who earns just £23 a month as a security guard, insisted he would give his daughter a good home.

Mercy has been living in an orphanage since her mother died.

'She is my daughter; she is my blood; she needs parental love,' he said. 'She is not an orphan. She lost one parent, yes, but I am still alive and so she is not an orphan.

'Madonna has millions of dollars but that doesn't make her a good mum. Parental love is more than money.'

The letter from James Kambewa, which he wrote in an attempt to block Madonna's application to adopt his daughter

James is yet to meet Mercy, after he left her mother when she was pregnant

He added: 'Besides, I don't think Madonna is a model mum. I have seen her in movies of her songs. She doesn't portray good morals.

'How can a woman of 50 dance almost naked on stage? I wouldn't want my daughter to grow up like that! In Malawi women respect themselves. Cultured women do not go about half-naked.

'I also heard after her marriage failed she is already seeing two men, both very younger than her and her ex-husband. I hear one of them is even less than half her age. That's scandalous. How can a normal woman fall for a boy who can as well be her son? No, spare my Mercy that scandal.'

A court has already denied Madonna, 50, the chance to adopt Mercy, but she is said to be ' confident' of overturning that ruling at an appeal next Monday.

She had hoped it would succeed on the basis she has the backing of Mercy's immediate family, includingher grandmother Lucy Chekichiwa and her uncle Peter Baneti. That, however, was before Mr Kambewa's intervention.

He is enlisting the help the Human Rights Consultative Committee, a group of organisations which have campaigned against Madonna's adoption bid.

Madonna holds her adopted son David as they meet with the boy's biological father, Yohane Banda, during her visit to Malawi in March

In a hand-written letter to the HRCC legal team, headed ' Claiming the right to raise a child', he said: 'I have learnt that an American-musician called Madonna has applied to a court for the adoption of the kid, to which the grandmother has consented.

'However, I do not consent to the adoption because I feel I am capable of raising the child.'

Mr Kambewa met Mercy's mother Mwandida Maunde when she was 15. They fell in love and Mwandida became pregnant.

The singer brought along her biological daughter Lourdes for the adoption proceedings

But Mr Kambewa denied responsibility for the child and disappeared. He has pledged to take a DNA test to prove he is the father.

'I regret I haven't been around for Mercy for the past three years,' he said. 'She shouldn't have been at the orphanage if I was around.

'I regret my childishness. I hope the appeal fails so that I assume my rightful role as Mercy's dad.'

The HRCC confirmed it had received his letter and will decide whether to appoint a lawyer for him.

That stupid cunt shoud be ashamed of himself, fuckin deadbeat father.

[angiecat]

i wonder how much money do they paid for him to said bullshit

[Guest harbors]

http://x17online.com/

Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl from Malawi has gotten even more complicated now that Mercy's father wants to block the adoption so that he can raise the child himself.The 24-year-old father, who abandoned Mercy's mother when she became pregnant, now says he'd rather raise the child who has lived her entire life in an orphanage.

In an interview with the UK's Daily Mail, the father says he's trying to protect his daughter from "a life of scandal" with a woman he says is without "good morals."

"She is my daughter; she is my blood; she needs parental love," the father said of Mercy.

The father has written a letter asking that the court block Madonna's attempt to adopt the girl and return her to his custody.

Meantime, it's being reported that Madonna's ex-husband Guy Ritchie will be taking care of their son Rocco and their adopted son David for three months this summer while Madonna goes on tour.

Why do you think the father is now seeking custody of the child? Don't you think Madonna would be a better parent?

[angiecat]

http://x17online.com/

Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl from Malawi has gotten even more complicated now that Mercy's father wants to block the adoption so that he can raise the child himself.The 24-year-old father, who abandoned Mercy's mother when she became pregnant, now says he'd rather raise the child who has lived her entire life in an orphanage.

In an interview with the UK's Daily Mail, the father says he's trying to protect his daughter from "a life of scandal" with a woman he says is without "good morals."

"She is my daughter; she is my blood; she needs parental love," the father said of Mercy.

The father has written a letter asking that the court block Madonna's attempt to adopt the girl and return her to his custody.

Meantime, it's being reported that Madonna's ex-husband Guy Ritchie will be taking care of their son Rocco and their adopted son David for three months this summer while Madonna goes on tour.

Why do you think the father is now seeking custody of the child ? Don't you think Madonna would be a better parent?

[DIRTY PIG]

he would let her rot in the orphanage if it wasnt for Madonnas involvement. awful bastard.

[Guest joliepast]

The count down begins! crossing my finger.......DUMP JESUS!

[Apples388]

As much as I hate to say it I don't think this adoption will ever happen for Madonna.

I think she should make with the the best she can and just be able to develop a strong relationship with Mercy as a maternal figure rather than her mother.

[Guest joliepast]

As much as I hate to say it I don't think this adoption will ever happen for Madonna.

I think she should make with the the best she can and just be able to develop a strong relationship with Mercy as a maternal figure rather than her mother.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.......u MUST think positive!

[Nikki]

OH fuck no!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/02/...in4986342.shtml

(CBS/ AP) The Malawian man thought to be the biological father of a four-year-old girl Madonna hopes to adopt says he's opposed to it.

The pop superstar's appeal of a judge's decision rejecting her attempt to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James is slated to be heard Monday, reportedly by Lovemore Munlo, the Chief Justice of the poor southern African nation.

In an Early Show world exclusive, James Kambewa tells correspondent Priya David, "I want to take care of her and I'm capable to take care of my baby. ... Mercy, she is a Malawian -- so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian, as well with our culture."

Kambewa, who wears a necklace he made bearing his daughter’s name, has never held or even met her, and says he's only seen her “in newspapers and TV, not face to face."

The interview will be featured in an Early Show three-part series about Madonna's adoption starting Monday.

Lucy Chekechiwa, Mercy’s maternal grandmother, says she remains conflicted about the matter, telling David the orphanage has been determined. “I did not want my granddaughter to be adopted,” she says, “but because they have been persistent enough, I have been forced to let my granddaughter go."

Madonna already adopted a son, David, from Malawi.

That nation requires prospective parents to live there 18 to 24 months while child welfare authorities assess their suitability. That rule wasn't applied when Madonna was allowed to take David to London in 2006.

The judge in a lower court said Madonna's previous adoption was the only case in which the residency requirement had been waived, and said she was concerned that doing so again could set a precedent that could jeopardize children.

The judge said she wasn't questioning Madonna's intentions, and praised the work the singer's charity has done to feed, educate and provide medical care for Malawi's orphans.

Madonna recently told a newspaper in Malawi that she wants to educate Mercy and empower her to help people in Malawi.

"I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible," she said in an e-mailed response to questions from the Nation. "And it's my hope that she, like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country."

[Guest joliepast]

OH fuck no!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/02/...in4986342.shtml

(CBS/ AP) The Malawian man thought to be the biological father of a four-year-old girl Madonna hopes to adopt says he's opposed to it.

The pop superstar's appeal of a judge's decision rejecting her attempt to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James is slated to be heard Monday, reportedly by Lovemore Munlo, the Chief Justice of the poor southern African nation.

In an Early Show world exclusive, James Kambewa tells correspondent Priya David, "I want to take care of her and I'm capable to take care of my baby. ... Mercy, she is a Malawian -- so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian, as well with our culture."

Kambewa, who wears a necklace he made bearing his daughter’s name, has never held or even met her, and says he's only seen her “in newspapers and TV, not face to face."

The interview will be featured in an Early Show three-part series about Madonna's adoption starting Monday.

Lucy Chekechiwa, Mercy’s maternal grandmother, says she remains conflicted about the matter, telling David the orphanage has been determined. “I did not want my granddaughter to be adopted,” she says, “but because they have been persistent enough, I have been forced to let my granddaughter go."

Madonna already adopted a son, David, from Malawi.

That nation requires prospective parents to live there 18 to 24 months while child welfare authorities assess their suitability. That rule wasn't applied when Madonna was allowed to take David to London in 2006.

The judge in a lower court said Madonna's previous adoption was the only case in which the residency requirement had been waived, and said she was concerned that doing so again could set a precedent that could jeopardize children.

The judge said she wasn't questioning Madonna's intentions, and praised the work the singer's charity has done to feed, educate and provide medical care for Malawi's orphans.

Madonna recently told a newspaper in Malawi that she wants to educate Mercy and empower her to help people in Malawi.

"I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and health care possible," she said in an e-mailed response to questions from the Nation. "And it's my hope that she, like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country."

Go Away Asshole!

[Bitch]

This crook should be careful; if M's adoption of Mercy fails he'll be expected to ACTUALLY look after the kid.

What a disgrace he is. Shame there're people like that. I don't know who's worse; he or the journalists who're pimping him.

[Guest joliepast]

No Mercy - Top judge to throw out Madonna's adoption appeal

EXCLUSIVE by Stewart Maclean and Thomas Chafunya in Blantyre, Malawi 2/05/2009

Madonna (Rex:Features)

Madonna's hopes of adopting little Mercy James are set to be finally crushed by a judge tomorrow.

The star, 50, has been desperately clinging to the hope she could still win custody of three-year-old Mercy despite being refused adoption rights last month.

But yesterday officials at Malawi’s Supreme Court said the country’s top judge, Lovemore Munlo, was certain to dismiss her case when he heads a review panel.

In a further blow, Mercy’s dad, security guard James Kambewa, 24, yesterday met her maternal family in the hope they will back his custody bid. It is likely village leaders will tell him to buy the family two goats to say sorry for shaming them by abandoning her mother.

He told the Sunday Mirror: “My family has met Mercy’s family and we all agree we love the girl. She deserves the best we can give.

“Whatever has happened, we should be allowed to raise our daughter as we wish.

“I hope that we can unite and fight this in the courts to see that it is so. I am Mercy’s father and should be allowed to see my daughter.” Madonna is not expected to be at the 9am hearing. She will wait by the phone in London for news.

Her bid was turned down last month as she was not a Malawi resident – a requirement that was waived when the singer was allowed to take David Banda to London in 2006.

[Bitch]

Madonna is not expected to be at the 9am hearing. She will wait by the phone in London for news.

Who writes this crap?!

It is likely village leaders will tell him to buy the family two goats to say sorry for shaming them by abandoning her mother.

Adequate.

[Guest joliepast]

Dad Speaks Out Against Madonna's Adoption Appeal

Originally posted Saturday May 02, 2009 08:45 PM EDT

Madonna in Malawi in October 2006 Photo by: BARM / FameDad Speaks Out Against Madonna's Adoption Appeal

The man believed to be the biological father of Mercy, the 4-year-old Malawian girl Madonna is trying to adopt, says he he wants to raise her in his own culture.

"I want to take care of her, and I'm capable of taking care of my baby," James Kambewa told CBS's The Early Show in an interview to air Monday, the same day the court will hear Madonna's appeal of the rejected adoption.

"Mercy, she is a Malawian, so need her to grow as a Malawian ... with our culture," he said.

The hearing in Madonna's appeal case will be led by the head of the judiciary in Malawi. The southern African country's High Court had previously rejected her application to adopt Mercy Chifundo James.

In his interview, Kambewa tells The Early Show that he's never met his daughter and has only seen her "in newspapers and TV, not face to face."

Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said she doesn't know if Kambewa is the girl's father and that Mercy has been in an orphanage all her life, according to the Associated Press.

The singer, 50, found Mercy, whose teenage mother had died, at Kondanani Children's Village in the town of Bvumbwe when she first visited Malawi in October 2006, the same time she found David Banda at a different orphanage.

Madonna is not required to attend Monday's hearing.

[Shopgal1984]

Urgh its really the worst

[cosmic_system]

:-(

[Guest Melvin]

I wonder if she's going to adopt in America. She's got three healthy children though. She should pay for Mercy's schooling and such.

[Guest joliepast]

I wonder if she's going to adopt in America. She's got three healthy children though. She should pay for Mercy's schooling and such.

why not another african country

[Raider of the lost Ark]

... She should pay for Mercy's schooling and such.

Exactly the reason why her so called father appears suddenly. That´s the way he can get his hands on the money Madonna will likely spent for Mercys future in case they wont allow her to adopt Mercy. It´s so obvious. People who believe he is sincere are simply stupid or ignorant. If the Daily Hate paid him only 300 pounds for the interview, it equals his annual income. The whole situation is a jackpot for him.

[Guest joliepast]

May 10, 2009, 8:00 pm

Celebrity Adoptions and the Real World

By The Editors

CLICK THE LINK http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/

Madonna’s quest to adopt a second child — a 3-year-old girl — from Malawi has once again put the celebrity in the spotlight and stirred debate about international adoptions. Save the Children (U.K.) has said that the girl Madonna wants to adopt and children like her would be better off in their home countries, and that most children in orphanages have extended family. (A man claiming to be the father of the girl, Chifundo James known as Mercy, has come forward demanding custody.) This view of international adoption is also held by Unicef.

What should the standard be for allowing international adoptions?

* Elizabeth Bartholet, Harvard Law School

* E.J. Graff, Brandeis University

* Marguerite A. Wright, psychologist

* David Smolin, Cumberland Law School

* Diane B. Kunz, Center for Adoption Policy

* Jane Aronson, pediatrician

Focus on the Child’s Human Rights

Elizabeth Bartholet

Elizabeth Bartholet, a professor of law and the faculty director of the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School, is the author of “Family Bonds” and “Nobody’s Children.”

The news media often distorts some aspects of international adoption, but can at the same time bring needed attention to important realities.

Resources

* International Adoption: Thoughts on the Human Rights Issues

The biggest problem in international adoption is that many who call themselves advocates for children’s human rights press for legal restrictions that limit the ability to provide homes to children in need. Thus Save the Children calls for denying Madonna’s second adoption based on interpreting a residence requirement so as to prevent virtually all international adoption. Some 67 children’s rights organizations went into court to oppose her first adoption. Unicef calls regularly for restrictions limiting international adoption to at best last-resort status. Romania was forced by similar pressures to outlaw such adoption as a condition of joining the European Union.

To fix this problem we need to focus policymakers on the real human rights issues for children. The judge who granted Madonna’s first adoption got it right in ruling that Malawi’s residence requirement must be read in light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that required allowing the child David to grow up in the nurturing home that only international adoption would provide.

Angelina Jolie(Photo: Mahmoud Tawil/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images) Angelina Jolie and her adopted son Maddox.

Many millions of children worldwide are living and dying in orphanages or on the streets, with no possibility of finding homes in their own country. Unicef argues for the creation of foster care and social welfare programs, but these things will not happen overnight, and foster care generally doesn’t work nearly as well for children as adoption.

International adoption provides good homes for the children lucky enough to be placed, and brings significant new resources into countries to improve orphanage conditions and help build welfare programs for the future. Celebrities like Madonna and Angelina Jolie have provided many millions of dollars for such efforts. While few individual adopters have their resources, many develop comparable interest as a result of their own adoptions in contributing what they can to help those children left behind.

The Seamier Side of International Adoption

E.J. Graff

E.J. Graff is the associate director and senior researcher at Brandeis University’s Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism.

Resources

* The Lie We Love

In trying to adopt Mercy James, Madonna’s intention might be humanitarian: she may hope to save a child from institutional misery and loneliness. It might be selfish: she wants a child to love. It might be a self-justifying mixture of both. But in trying to adopt a child who already has a family, Madonna is inadvertently exposing the seamier underside of international adoption: the fact that, too often, the amounts of money that Western adoption agencies spend in poor countries is helping to defraud, coerce or kidnap children away from families that wanted to raise them to adulthood.

The amount of money that Western adoption agencies spend in poor countries is helping to defraud, coerce or kidnap children away from families that wanted to raise them to adulthood.

Westerners have been sold the idea that “millions” of healthy infants and toddlers in underdeveloped and war-torn countries are waiting to be rescued from poverty, abandonment and abuse. It’s not so. In fact, the neediest children (especially outside China) are sick, disabled, traumatized or older than 5 — not the cute, healthy babies like Mercy James who, quite understandably, Westerners generally hope to adopt. There are simply not enough healthy, adoptable infants to meet Western demand — and there’s too much Western money being spent in search of those healthy babies.

The system works much like other forms of scarcely regulated globalization. For each child adopted by a Western family, adoption agencies pay fees that are grossly oversized compared to local per capita incomes. Some of those children desperately need homes. But not always. In countries like Albania, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Romania, Samoa and Vietnam, unwittingly — and too often — good-hearted Westerners who wanted to save an orphan have created one instead.

Part of the problem is the different cultural understandings of “orphanages.” Westerners — quite rightly — want to save children from being consigned to institutions, so damaging to child development. But in poor countries, these institutions may well be temporary child-caring centers, places to leave a child while the family brings in the harvest or struggles through a spell of poverty, illness or some other emergency. Occasionally some entrepreneurial local realizes how much Western adoption agencies are willing to pay for healthy babies and turns these homes into profit centers, bringing in tens of thousands of cash “donations.” The anonymous Mercy Jameses of the world are shipped abroad, leaving behind bereft families.

In places like Malawi, what stressed families and communities need more than adoption are basics like clean water, vaccinations, school funding and other social services that would help keep many families together. Some children do need homes. But Madonna is showing exactly what shouldn’t be done: airlifting one or two pretty children into the comparative wealth of the West, leaving behind bereft families who want — but can’t afford — to bring that child home.

Trans-racial Adoptions

Marguerite A. Wright

Marguerite A. Wright, the senior clinical and research psychologist for the Center for the Vulnerable Child at Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, is the author of “I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World.”

As a psychologist working with foster and adopted children and their families, I find puzzling some of the negative public reactions to Madonna’s efforts to adopt Mercy. Madonna seems to be trying to improve this child’s life.

orphans(Photo: Olivier Asselin for The New York Times) Children from an orphanage in Gomoa Fetteh, Ghana.

Whatever her motives, she is raising the profile of international adoption and drawing attention to the plight of destitute children around the world. Research shows that children do best when raised in a supportive, caring family. Mercy has a much better chance of thriving in a family environment with personal attention, educational opportunities and medical care than in an orphanage.

That said, it’s also important to consider the issue of race in international adoptions. Of course, one should meet the standards for an appropriate caregiver (as Madonna has done, given that the Malawi government allowed her to adopt her son, David). Additionally, parents should make a concerted effort to learn more about the culture of the child they are adopting.

To establish a sense of continuity for a child who has experienced considerable upheaval, it is advisable to maintain contact, when possible, with people who were significant in the child’s life in the birth country. Throughout the child’s formative years, parents would also do well to nourish the child’s link to the birth culture through educational activities, language programs, cultural events, travel. The adoption process should include counseling about these matters.

Parents in trans-racial adoptions must anticipate tricky situations with family, friends, school personnel and others in their social circle who might be uncomfortable with the child’s race. And they need to prepare strategies for confronting negative messages and stereotypes.

In placement decisions for domestic adoptions in the United States, race and ethnicity are still prominent. Obsession with the race of the prospective caregiver is understandable, given the painful history of blacks’ oppression in this country. In 1996, Congress passed a law that made it easier for parents to adopt a child of another race, but in my experience placement decisions still rely heavily on matching the race and ethnicity of the caregiver and child.

While it is best for parents and adopted children to be of similar race and ethnicity, studies show that black children languish, unplaced, in the foster care system for much longer than other children do. It is important to get them out of the system and place them with loving families.

What’s more, using race as the primary criterion in adoption placement is not always in the best interest of the child, especially when there are not enough color-matching caregivers who meet the other standards for adoption. I’m hopeful that with the Obama presidency, more people will realize that race is only one factor in our multifaceted identity.

Madonna seems willing to do much for this child. Her critics should pause from composing online screeds about her motives and give her the benefit of the doubt. Instead, they should ask themselves: “What am I doing to relieve the suffering of countless destitute children.

Poor Children For Rich People

David Smolin

David Smolin is a professor of law, Cumberland Law School, Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., who has written extensively about adoption.

Celebrity adoptions highlight in extreme form the problems of the international adoption system: “orphans” often turn out to have immediate and extended families, laws are circumvented, money corrupts, facts are elusive, powerful adoptive parents and their agents overwhelm vulnerable birth families and the desire of comparatively wealthy Western people for children drives adoptions.

Reform international adoption by putting a priority on keeping children in their original family and within their community.

Consider Madonna’s adoptions. In both instances the so-called orphans have immediate and extended families who would have raised the children at home if they had just a few hundred dollars more per year. In both cases there have been efforts to persuade the family members to let the child go based on the hope that the child would return to assist them once they had grown, despite the legal reality that adoption means the permanent legal severing of all relationship between children and their original families.

In both cases, the child’s removal from Malawi would mean the loss of the child’s original language and culture, making the children’s promised return in later life a difficult event. In both cases, there has been an effort to circumvent the residency requirements of Malawi law. In both cases, Madonna’s wealth has been critical to her efforts to circumvent the law. In both cases, Madonna has chosen NOT to assist the families of these children in reclaiming their children, but instead has claimed their children for herself.

Celebrity adoptions, unfortunately like many other international adoptions, are about the desire of rich people for the children of the poor. The adoption myth is that the world is full of orphans who need families; celebrity adoptions remind us that the world is really full of poor families who need assistance.

International adoption needs to be reformed by implementation of the subsidiarity principle: assistance toward maintaining the children in their original family and community must be attempted prior to any international placement. The money involved in international adoption needs to be controlled and transparent. Madonna’s charitable activities in Malawi may be laudable, but she should not be given a child in payment for them.

In the Child’s Best Interests

Diane B. Kunz

Diane B. Kunz, a lawyer, is the executive director of the Center for Adoption Policy, a nonprofit group that provides research, analysis, advice and education on domestic and international adoption.

The recent criticism surrounding Madonna and her attempts to adopt a 3-year-old girl from Malawi demonstrates the continuing campaign to delegitimize international adoption. While celebrities who hire a surrogate mother (perhaps purchasing donor eggs and sperm as well) are given a pass, groups like Save the Children (U.K.) have been quick to attack Madonna, in particular, and international adoption, in general. Unfortunately, many of these nongovernment organizations believe that keeping children in their birth country and expanding social services there are more important than the right of each child to have a permanent, loving family.

In Madonna’s care, Mercy will have the love of a mother, brothers and a sister while at the same time retaining a connection to her birth family and her birth country.

I share the concerns of international adoption critics about corruption, accountability and the lack of transparency in some countries. And I believe that every child has a right to know and appreciate her birth nation and heritage. But my primary concern is for best interests of the individual child.

Madonna is, by all accounts, an excellent mother who is devoted to her children, including, David, her Malawi-born adopted son. Her foundation, Raising Malawi, has brought much-needed international to Malawi and provided significant assistance to its people. In Madonna’s care, Mercy will have the love of a mother, brothers and a sister while at the same time retaining a connection to her birth family and her birth country. She will receive the education and nurture that will allow her to fulfill her potential, be it in Malawi or wherever her dreams take her. Instead of assailing Madonna, we should be saluting her.

The Goal: No More Orphans

Jane Aronson

Jane Aronson is a pediatrician who specializes in adoption medicine. She is the founder of Worldwide Orphans Foundation, a nonprofit organization that focuses on the medical, emotional, social and developmental needs of orphaned children worldwide.

Everyone doing an adoption — whether domestic or international, rich or poor, famous or not — should follow the same set of requirements established by the United States and other countries who are signatories of the Hague Treaty.

I have worked with many celebrities who have adopted, and they have all followed the rules and regulations; they have not tried to circumvent the law.

I have worked with many celebrities who have adopted, and they have all followed the rules and regulations; they have not tried to circumvent the law.

It fascinates me that we second guess the motivation of those who are personally unknown to us (i.e. celebrities). I can hardly figure out the feelings of those close to me so I wonder why everyone thinks that they can figure out what Madonna is thinking. That most publications have alluded to Madonna’s willful violation of Malawi laws, contending that she defied the judges and the community in Malawi is shocking. Where is the proof? Why should anyone be judged about their motivation to create a family whether through adoption or the old-fashioned way — who cares? If you are a responsible parent, then it shouldn’t matter why you want to have a child.

It amazes me that someone would argue that heritage and cultural identity is what matters most in a child’s life. To throw out all the thoughtfulness of developmental psychologists and pediatricians around the need for a child to grow up as part of a family is mind-boggling. And yet discussions online and in newspapers appear to be doing just that.

There are 145 million orphans in the world and though they should all have families that is not an efficient or realistic approach. What we need is to rebuild communities and help families to grow and stay together so that there are no more orphans.

Everyone should stop whining and judging and instead help provide better lives for orphaned children. That doesn’t mean you have to adopt, let’s be innovative and creative in finding ways to end the dreadful inequities in the lives of women and children around the world.

Stop picking on Madonna and other celebrities. Instead focus your energy on solving the tragic problem of children living alone in the world.

SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN IN.......IT IS AMAZING....SO MANY DIFFERENT OPINIONS

Edited May 11, 2009 by joliepast

[Nessie]

Exactly the reason why her so called father appears suddenly. That´s the way he can get his hands on the money Madonna will likely spent for Mercys future in case they wont allow her to adopt Mercy. It´s so obvious. People who believe he is sincere are simply stupid or ignorant. If the Daily Hate paid him only 300 pounds for the interview, it equals his annual income. The whole situation is a jackpot for him.

thats very sad. i hope she gets an eye about it.