**Full bill text is available here**

Washington, D.C. — Today, Representatives Annie Kuster (D-NH), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) introduced the bipartisan Adoption Deserves Oversight, Protection, and Transparency (ADOPT) Act. This comprehensive legislation protects adoptive families, children, and expectant mothers from exploitation by unlicensed adoption intermediaries and ensures that adoption providers and attorneys operate only in states where they are licensed to do so. 

“As an adoption attorney for 25 years, I worked with countless adoptive parents, expectant mothers, and supportive agencies as they navigated the process. Through my work, I saw firsthand how a lack of regulation and oversight has allowed bad actors and unlicensed intermediaries to take advantage of parents, mothers, and children,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “It’s past time Congress took action to make adoption safe and secure. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation today to help ensure everyone involved in the adoption process is protected from exploitation by unlicensed or predatory intermediaries.”

“Today we are standing up for vulnerable birth mothers and prospective parents,” said Congressman Lamborn. “Unlicensed ‘Baby Brokers’ operate outside moral and ethical standards and must face legal ramifications for their actions. We must uplift and promote organizations that provide efficient, caring, and responsible adoption practices.”

“Adoption is one of the greatest gifts that can be given to a child.  And for a child to find a loving, forever home is truly what every child deserves,” said Congressman Aderholt. “This is why we have to do all we can to make sure adoptions are completed aboveboard, and those willing to give so much, are not taken advantage of in the process.  I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for sponsoring this legislation.”

“The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) supports legislation requiring licensing and regulation of all those who facilitate adoptions or provide other adoption-related services,” said Margaret Swain, President of AAAA. “Adoptive families and children deserve to be served by licensed adoption professionals, with appropriate oversight and transparency. Protecting all parties to an adoption ensures that families seeking to expand their family do not have their hopes exploited and that the guardrails of the legal process are maintained. These safeguards maximize the protection of the child's best interest. The ADOPT Act is an important step toward protecting families and children, and ensuring Americans have high confidence in the adoption process.”

“This bill will put protections in place for vulnerable women, families, and children impacted by domestic adoption by prohibiting unlicensed adoption intermediaries and promoting local, on-the-ground support for parents considering adoption,” said Ethical Family Building. “The ADOPT Act will send a clear message that the commodification of pregnant women and children, and the exploitation of families hoping to adopt, will not be tolerated.”

“This bill name says it all: adoption deserves oversight, protections, and transparency. This bipartisan legislation provides safeguards and protections for all the parties involved with an adoption, most especially for the expectant parents considering adoption,” said Ryan Hanlon, the president and CEO of National Council For Adoption. “By eliminating the online, for-profit brokers, it will also reduce the cost of adoption and ensure that the service providers involved are licensed and overseen by proper authorities.”  

Kuster is a fierce advocate for women and children. Before serving in Congress, she worked as an adoption attorney for over 25 years. Earlier this year, she introduced the In Good Standing Act, bipartisan legislation that requires the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain a public list of licensed and not-for-profit adoption agencies in states across the U.S.

The ADOPT Act protects adoptive families, children, and expectant mothers from exploitation by:

• Prohibiting adoption advertising and the provision of private adoption services for compensation by any entity not licensed as a child-placing agency or attorney; and
• Restricting payments to expectant mothers unless made through a provider licensed in the state where the expectant mother resides.

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