GUANGZHOU, China --Friends were jittery. One sister bawled
over the phone, pleading with them not to go now. And, admittedly,
there was a slight hesitation as world health authorities issued
dire travel advisories.
But in the end, it was 2-year-old Ella's cries they longed
to hear, so MacGregor and Ashley Magruder of Baton Rouge ignored
the worldwide health panic over severe acute respiratory syndrome,
or SARS, and came here last week to complete their adoption.
"The Centers for Disease Control warned us to avoid 'unnecessary'
travel, but for us, this is very necessary," said Ashley Magruder,
31, as her husband hoisted their giggling daughter into the
air. "It's not like I'm here to go shopping. This is probably
the only thing that would ever bring me to China."
Indeed, the stampede of American parents determined to come
for their babies continues unabated despite the fears and the
fact that all U.S. adoptions out of China must be finalized
at the consulate in Guangzhou, capital of the southern province
suspected to be the epicenter and possible origin of SARS.
At least 133 deaths and 3,000 cases of SARS have been reported
on four continents, including at least 59 deaths and 1,300
cases on mainland China. A 15-month-old girl adopted from
China by a Massachusetts family was suspected of having SARS
last month, raising concerns about whether the controversy would
affect China's adoption popularity.
"Nobody has said 'I'm not going to China because of SARS'
or said 'Let's put this off,' " said Cory Barron, spokesman
for Children's Hope International, a St. Louis-based adoption
agency that handled 290 adoptions from China last year. "You
must understand the emotional draw at work here. These people
wait for a year and a half before they receive their referrals.
Once they have that picture, it's in their wallet and their
heart. That is their baby."
The U.S. State Department this month changed the rule that
both parents and the child must come to Guangzhou to finalize
the adoption; instead it required the presence of only one parent
and no child. But for families who are reluctant to separate,
that could add logistical problems and expenses to a process
that already costs as much as $ 30,000. So nearly 100 couples
continue to show up each week with their babies to take the
oath that naturalizes the children as American citizens.
Since adoptions out of China became legal in 1992, the world's
most populous nation has become the world's largest exporter
of babies. Americans adopted nearly 5,100 Chinese babies last
year alone. Thousands of infant girls are abandoned each year
by peasant parents who are allowed by the government to
have only one child. Parents desire sons, because girls usually
grow up to care for their husbands' families. An oft-heard proverb
in China states that raising a daughter "is like watering
your neighbor's lawn."
Rather than running off parents already matched with babies,
SARS has redoubled the resolve of many, who already view themselves
as rescuers of children otherwise destined for lives of squalor
and neglect.
"If anything, we wanted to come here even more to get Kathryn,
just in case she was in danger of getting it," said Jeanne Nadeau,
41, of Malibu, Calif., who adopted a 10-month-old last week.
"Nothing in the world could've kept us from this trip. Would
you be able to leave this face behind?"
Still, some take precautions. Many have face masks, although
they're frequently discarded as inconvenient or uncomfortable,
and some are taking preventive antibiotics to be safe. Fewer
families at the White Swan Hotel, where most Americans stay
in Guangzhou while waiting out the process, are enjoying the
brightly colored playroom decorated with Disney characters and
appointed with books, toys and games, probably to avoid putting
their babies in close contact with others.
And Alexandra Dow, a Manhattan emergency room doctor adopting
1-year-old Isabella last week, said she would keep her 4-year-old
son, Joshua, out of school for about a week upon their return
"to make sure he doesn't have it and won't give it to anybody
else's children."
"Sure, I'm nervous being here," said Dow, 47. "I kept hoping
by the time we left, maybe they would have isolated the virus
or found a cure. But here we are, and it doesn't seem as bad
as it sounded."
Despite the lack of cancellations, some in the adoption industry
fear that the effect of SARS may come from parents who pass
over China if they're now considering adoption. That's not measurable
until it shows up in the number of completed adoptions, but
the process can take up to two years.
So far, parents are mostly undeterred. Many are receiving
encouragement from others on the 10,000-member e-mail list for
those who are or have adopted from China, and most believe the
panic surrounding SARS is largely the result of media hype.
"Adoption takes too long to be able to worry about something
like SARS," said Liz Collins of Portland, Ore., in an e-mail
interview. She and her husband began the process in September
2001 and were matched on March 31 with a 6-month-old they will
call Elowyn. "We hope to travel in mid- to late May, but we
would happily travel tomorrow if we could."
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