Madonna gets her way....Baby Mercy is hers.

[whooosh]

Feel so frustrated for all those going through the adoption process who don't have the cash "big guns" she has.

[whooosh]

here

[daftpunk]

well done madonna..she's giving another child a much better life...

[spokette]

I agree.

At least the child will not grow up whilst enduring grinding poverty.

[whooosh]

I agree-am just frustrated for people I know also trying to give a child a better life.

[quidnunc]

I don't agree that this is entirely good news. In fact it really annoys me.

It goes without saying that lifting these children out of lives that could be extremely hard will always be welcome, and in this sense i salute her efforts.

BUT, does she think there are no wonderful babies/children in need of adoption in the US? She should get over herself. She is at serious risk of her adopted children being seen as the result of Madonna's dubious motivations.

[Pinkjenny]

Was there ever any doubt that she would get her? Agree with whooosh.

[Perfectgangofthree]

quidnunc ~ what makes you think that an American child deserves to be adopted by Madonna more than an African child?

[georgiemum]

Hmmmmm. I am not sure how good a life the little one would have being the daughter of a mega-rich superstar. Those kids just don't grow up well-adjusted do they?

Would a single 50 year old woman in the UK be able to adopt?

[HeadFairy]

I'm a bit about getting a better life. I agree a lack of food and clean water is a terrible thing to endure, but I don't think Mercy was facing that. Who are we to decide what's a better life? I'm not sure having everything you could possibly want, a parent who's rarely there due to work commitments, and a life very very far from the normal experience (armed security guards, hidden away behind high fences, isolating wealth) is necessarily the best thing for a child. And that's not even considering the fact that Mercy will have very little contact with her cultural roots.

I appreciate I'm being a bit judgey, but I do sometimes think it must be hard to be a mega-celeb's child.

[edam]

one law for the rich... but IF Mercy gets a better life with Madonna (and agree it is a big 'if') then I'm in no position to object.

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

Poor kid.

[georgiemum]

I wonder if she would consider adopting me... I am an orphan after all.

[TripleTroubleMuffin]

I think this is all wrong.

Madonna throws her money around and gets a child.

Not sure that Mercy's life will be necessarily worth it better, will just be more materialistically fulfilled. IMO.

[TripleTroubleMuffin]

Just announced on ITV news "a brother for David"

[KristinaM]

georgiemum - i think its probable that a single 50 year old black woman in the uk WOULD be allowed to adopt a 4yo black child

sadly there are NOT adopters queuing up in the UK to adopt four year old, post institutionalised black children

there are many many black and mixed race children in care in the UK awaiting families, espcially those who can take sibling groups, older children and those with additional support needs

i hope prospective adopters are not put off by the negative publicity surrounding this

[LIZS]

that you can apparently now legally acquire children through money. I would love to believe it is for purely altruistic reasons but sadly suspect not It would be arrogant to insist that a Western celeb life is necessarily "better" than what she leaves behind.

[quidnunc]

Gangof3: I don't think either US or African orphans are more deserving, it's simply that - as you may remember from the TV news coverage a while ago - she chartered a plane to take entourage of 40 'staff' over with her. At the same time we are told to give £1 or £3 a month to change childrens lives in some of these countries. She would have been far more rational to have adopted locally and just given a million or so to a charity that will provide fresh water, local agriculture/food, education and medicines.

In short, she's going to drag the poor kid into a world of constant media attention, wealth that most people cannot imagine, etc (per HardFairy). And as far as I can see she is doing so because she is either misguided, misinformed, shallow or cynical. Take yer pick!

I don't mean this to be a swipe at Madge - lots of respect. But this issue bugs me...

[smallorange]

well it's good to know that rich people can just turn up and buy a child from a poor country.

What happens to that child after it is bought is then obviously out of Malawi's hands. Child traffickers take note.

[bleh]

I am a but about this. I don't know how good it is that she is able to circumvent the law because she is wealthy, and was rather happy when the judges originally turned her down. I'm not wanting Mercy to grow up in poverty (no child should), but I don't think that Madonna should be allowed to be treated as if she's above the law. Secondly, what about her family? Surely Madonna's wealth would be better used supporting the whole family, or the whole village, rather than just "rescuing" one child. Who knows what kind of life Mercy will have now, in the middle of a celebrity lovey media circus.

[KristinaM]

maybe she has adopted again because she wishes David to have a sister with a smiliar racial/cultural background

but she has managed to convince the American adoption agency and the malawian courts that she can provide a loving family for them both

[quidnunc]

what bleh said.

[Tortington]

its not the law necesserily - maybe the law is an ass?

it is that she has the wealth to flout it

it is that this is totally about madonna, there is nothing selfless in this act.

selfless is continuing and ongoing charitable work

now i have to say that i know exactly shit all about whether she does have ongoing charitable work to help families that country.

[FAQinglovely]

"maybe she has adopted again because she wishes David to have a sister with a smiliar racial/cultural background"

oh yes of course that cultural background is going to be so easy to learn about when you're jetting off to the Bahama's for your holiday

[weblette]

This article has some more background.

I'm with bleh in terms of thinking

[Perfectgangofthree]

Whenever the subject of Madonna's inter-racial adoptions are brought up on MN, the racists come out of the closet

They assume that the African Appeal Court judges are corrupt and willing to sacrifice the welfare of a vulnerable young child in exchange for a bung.

The law in Malawi has always allowed for the residency rule to be waived if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the child. This was the case for Madonna's son, David, and has been deemed to be the case for her new daughter, Mercy.

Inter-country adoption is relatively new in Malawi and the Appeal Court judges have acknowledged that the residency rule is unworkable for ICA. My DD is from China and it would have been nigh on impossible for my husband and I to live there for a couple of years in order to adopt her.

Madonna's three other kids seem to be doing just fine in her care judging from the lovely photos of Lourdes and David.

A little girl has got a mummy and three siblings