Adoption Dilemma

Unfortunately, the story on babies having become a commodity in Guatemala (“Little Bundles of Cash,” Jan. 17) is not just limited to underdeveloped countries. The commercialization of adoption has also infected our adoption practice, so that a healthy infant can cost $25,000 and more, with the lion’s share going to the attorneys.

Adoption has moved from a professional social service, where the primary focus was to serve in the best interest of the child, to serving priority clients who will pay what the market demands. Infant adoption has become a business with little regard for the fact that adoption is a lifelong process that affects the lives of many people. Many adoption issues and questions will inevitably arise that the adoptive parent will have to deal with--not the least of which will surely be “How much did I cost?”

REUBEN PANNOR

Pacific Palisades