If you thought Madonna had a hard time adopting a Malawian child and getting through the forest of red tape, it’s also going to be a much tougher task for foreigners to adopt a South African baby in the near future. Foreign parents hoping for adoption from South Africa are now required to prove their commitment to living here.

The message from the courts is that South African children are better off staying in their country of birth, regardless of the nationality of their adoptive parents. In a ruling last month, a Dutch and Danish couple were awarded permission to use a surrogate mother from South Africa to help them start a family, but the Pretoria court said such families had to show the intention of staying in the country long term, setting a new benchmark in the law relating to surrogates.

In a similar fashion, adoption laws will now be tightened as well, with foreigners now needing to live in SA for five years before they can adopt a local child.

I know of one or two celebs who would argue that the millions of orphans in South Africa  need a safe home now, not in five years’ time.

[Source: News24]