The adoption of a child should NEVER EVER EVER cost money.

Children are not a commodity.

Well, they shouldn't be, but it happens.

I wonder if legal guardianship has the same monetary implications, because that is a better solution for creating a secure family for a child, but they also retain their identity.

Adoption not only dismisses that identity, but it creates so many barriers for the child, especially later in life when they are seeking information on their heritage and genetic connections. Open adoptions are not all they're cracked up to be.

Hardly anyone ever acknowledges the depth of loss that adoptees experience. The adoption topics tend to be about 'red tape' or 'how much they cost'. That shouldn't be an issue at all in my opinion.

Those children have just lost their mother and father. You can't buy them new ones.
Adoption should be about finding secure and loving environment for the child, not finding a child for those that are unfortunately unable to have children.

- an adoptee.