After decades of connecting American families with Chinese children, China’s foreign adoption program has officially come to an end. The program, which began in 1992, has facilitated the adoption of over 82,000 Chinese children by American families.

While many adoptive families cherish the experience, others acknowledge the program’s complexities and controversies. Reports of child trafficking, forced separations from birth parents, and cultural disconnection have marred the program’s reputation.

Adoptees and parents share mixed emotions about the program’s conclusion. Some are relieved, recognizing the underlying trauma and abuses, while others are grateful for the opportunity to build their families.

A Bittersweet Legacy

For Amy Cubbage and her husband, Graham Troop, adopting June from China in 2008 was a life-changing experience. Now 18, June is thriving at Duquesne University. However, Cubbage acknowledges the program’s flaws and is glad it’s ending.

Brian Stuy, father of three adopted Chinese girls, turned critical of the program and now helps adoptees research their origins. “As it relates to healthy infant girls, it should never have existed,” he says.

Unanswered Questions and Uncertain Futures

Chinese American adoptees like Charlotte Cotter, who reunited with her birth parents in 2016, still grapple with identity and cultural disconnect. Others, like Camille Wuesthoff, faced racism and feelings of alienation growing up.

With the program’s end, adoptees worry about finding birth families and seeking answers. China’s increasingly authoritarian government may further complicate these efforts.

A New Chapter

As China’s international adoption program closes, concerns remain about the fate of orphans with medical needs. Local families often hesitate to adopt children with disabilities, leaving many without forever homes.

June Cubbage-Troop, now navigating her own identity, plans to join an Asian student association and study abroad in Guilin, her birth city. Her story represents the complex, bittersweet legacy of China’s foreign adoption program.