Editing Adoption (section)

===Forced assimilation===
{{See also|Forced assimilation}}
Removing children of ethnic minorities from their families to be adopted by those of the dominant ethnic group has been used as a method of [[forced assimilation]]. Forced adoption based on ethnicity occurred during World War II. In German-occupied Poland, it is estimated that 200,000 Polish children with purportedly Aryan traits were [[Kidnapping of children for forced Germanization by Nazi Germany|removed from their families]] and given to German or Austrian couples,<ref>"[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/edf71f50-c208-11de-be3a-00144feab49a.html Searching for missing relatives in Poland]". ''[[Financial Times]]''. 30 October 2009.</ref> and only 25,000 returned to their families after the war.<ref>[[Gitta Sereny]], [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/children.html "Stolen Children"], rpt. in ''[[Jewish Virtual Library]]'' ([[American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise]]). Accessed 15 September 2008.</ref> The [[Stolen Generation]] of [[Aboriginal Peoples|Aboriginal people]] in Australia were affected by similar policies,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sorry-day-stolen-generations|title=Sorry Day and the Stolen Generations|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=16 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512054900/http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sorry-day-stolen-generations|archive-date=12 May 2012}}</ref> as were [[Native Americans in the United States]]<ref>{{cite web| url= http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/IAP.html|title=The Adoption History Project|publisher=Department of History, University of Oregon|access-date=16 June 2012}}</ref> and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] of [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710|title=First Nations in Canada
|publisher=Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada|access-date=16 June 2012|date=2011-06-07
}}</ref> These practices have become significant social and political issues in recent years, and in many cases the policies have changed.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EiPWZm49bLYC&q=%22adoption+fraud+is%22&pg=PA218 |title=Yes, You Can Adopt!: A Comprehensive Guide to Adoption|access-date=12 December 2011|isbn=9780786710355|year=2003|last1=Mintzer|first1=Richard|publisher=Carroll & Graf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adoptimist.com/adoption-blog/internet-adoption-scams-russian-adoption-ban|title=Internet Adoption Scams and the Russian Adoption Ban|last=Bernardo|first=Sanford M.|date=31 December 2012|publisher=Adoptimist|access-date=3 June 2013}}</ref> The United States, for example, now has the 1978 [[Indian Child Welfare Act]], which allows the tribe and family of a Native American child to be involved in adoption decisions, with preference being given to adoption within the child's tribe.<ref>[http://www.nicwa.org/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act/ National Indian Child Welfare Association: the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514175842/http://www.nicwa.org/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act/ |date=14 May 2013 }}</ref> While forced assimilation usually revolves around ethnicity, assimilating children of political minorities has also occurred. In [[Spain]] under [[Francisco Franco]]'s 1939–1975 dictatorship the newborns of some left-wing opponents of the regime, or unmarried or poor couples, were removed from their mothers and adopted. New mothers were frequently told their babies had died suddenly after birth and the hospital had taken care of their burials, when in fact they were given or sold to another family. It is believed that up to 300,000 babies were involved. These practices—which allegedly involved doctors, nurses, nuns and priests—outlived Franco's death in 1975 and carried on as an illegal baby trafficking network until 1987 when a new law regulating adoption was introduced.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/26/spanish-doctor-eduardo-vela-trial-franco-era-stolen-babies Spanish doctor stands trial over Franco-era 'stolen babies']</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899 Spain's stolen babies and the families who lived a lie]</ref>