The adoption journey is filled with hope, love, and commitment — but too often it also includes confusion, risk, and vulnerability, especially for expectant mothers and prospective adoptive parents navigating a complex landscape of providers and services.
That’s why the ADOPT Act of 2025 has become a major topic in the adoption world — and why Adoption Advocates supports this bill wholeheartedly.
What Is the ADOPT Act of 2025?
The ADOPT Act of 2025 (short for Adoption Deserves Oversight, Protection, and Transparency Act) is bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress aimed at strengthening standards, accountability, and safety in the private adoption process.
Right now, many families and pregnant women seeking adoption services encounter a crowded field: licensed agencies, legal professionals, and unfortunately, unlicensed intermediaries operating with little oversight. These middlemen — sometimes called “facilitators” or “baby brokers” — often employ unethical practices, make promises they cannot keep, and operate outside regulated standards.
The ADOPT Act would make it federal law that only licensed adoption agencies, licensed attorneys, or properly accredited intercountry adoption organizations can:
- Provide adoption intermediary services
- Advertise paid adoption matching services across state lines
- Receive payment for services unless regulated under state or federal standards
It would also limit the way financial assistance can be provided to expectant parents, ensuring that monetary support goes through regulated channels where there is accountability and standards.
Why This Matters
Protecting Women in Vulnerable Positions
Expectant mothers considering adoption are often in emotionally and financially difficult circumstances. Without clear oversight, some unlicensed providers create pressure, misinformation, or incentives that do not respect the autonomy or best interests of the woman.
The ADOPT Act would help ensure that any support, guidance, and placement services are provided by professionals who are licensed, transparent, and accountable — protecting women and men rather than exploiting them.
Safeguarding Prospective Adoptive Parents
For hopeful adoptive families, trusting an entity to facilitate one of the most life-changing decisions imaginable should never be fraught with risk. Unregulated intermediaries often:
- Charge high fees without legal protections
- Leave families without recourse when things go wrong
- Create confusion about legal rights and requirements
- Fail to prepare families for open adoption relationships and parenting an adopted child
By raising standards and requiring licensing, the ADOPT Act would help families move through adoption with clarity, honesty, and professional accountability.
Keeping Children Safe and Dignified
At the heart of every adoption are children, and their safety, dignity, and best interests must be the guiding principles of policy. When adoption services are unregulated, the risk increases that children can be treated as commodities instead of human beings with inherent worth.
The ADOPT Act seeks to reduce those risks by ensuring that intermediaries are bound by ethical codes and legal accountability.
Our Position: Ethical, Regulated, Compassionate Adoption
We support the ADOPT Act of 2025 because it aligns with our core belief that adoption should always be ethical, transparent, and protective of all involved — especially expectant parents in vulnerable positions and the children at the center of the process.
We acknowledge that the current adoption system has real strengths: loving families, dedicated professionals, and meaningful permanence for children. But we also know there are unlicensed adoption entities whose practices harm real people.
This legislation offers a way to strengthen protections, raise standards, and reduce exploitation while preserving the heart of adoption: supporting families and honoring the dignity of expectant/birth mothers and children alike.
What Happens Next?
The ADOPT Act has been introduced and referred to committee. As with all federal legislation, it will go through committee review, possible amendment, and deliberation in both the House and Senate before becoming law. Supporters from both sides of the aisle have backed the bill, reflecting shared concern that adoption should be safe, ethical, and transparent.
We will continue to follow this bill and provide updates as it moves forward — and we encourage families and advocates to stay informed and engaged.
