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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson and Amy Hawkins

‘It breaks us deeply’: anguish as China closes door to foreign adoptions

Lauren and Harrison Smith with their daughters and a picture of Benaiah, the Chinese boy they were in the processing of adopting before Beijing announced on 4 September that it was no longer allowing inter country adoptions.
Lauren and Harrison Smith with their daughters and a picture of Benaiah, the Chinese boy they were in the processing of adopting before Beijing announced on 4 September that it was no longer allowing inter country adoptions. Photograph: supplied

Americans Lauren and Harrison Smith met in China as students, and discussed their desire to adopt from the country early on in their relationship. As soon as they reached the minimum age of 30, the couple put together their applications and submitted for inspections of their home in Kunming, the capital of south-west China’s Yunnan province, where they lived with their two-year-old daughter.

“In September 2019, we saw our son’s picture for the first time and were able to submit a letter of intent to adopt him,” Lauren told the Guardian.

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