why not domestic?

i have gotten a little bit of criticism for this and i know a few of my friends who are adopting have as well. i thought this was a great short article on the choice between domestic vs. international that a friend sent to me. everyone's decision is based on different factors, but ultimately for us the choice was made by God.
i found it here: http://parenting-families.hcibooks.com/category/jennifer-pedley/

"Yesterday I was doing a radio interview and was asked to comment on a news story about the large number of children waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. The women being interviewed in the clip expressed her great frustration about couples’ continual pursuits to adopt from foreign countries when “…so many children here already need good homes.”

Since my expertise lies in neither international adoption or foster care adoption, I would never say I am any kind of authority on either subject, but I have done enough work in both of these types of adoption to know that these statements are often made flippantly and out of frustration, by someone pretty uninformed about the realities of one or the other (or both!).

The question posed by the radio host to me was neither easy to answer or simple to explain in less than, say . . . an hour. Yes, there are kids here that need good homes. Yes, they are available for adoption. Yes, it costs relatively little, if anything, to adopt from foster care, while yes, international adoption always costs thousands of dollars. So isn’t it a no-brainer? Well no, not so fast.

The woman in the news clip spoke about how internationally adopted children are just “left in cribs with no one to care for them” and that “…these adoptions from Russia just aren’t working out.”

Whoa! Talk about a generalization. I, obviously don’t even need to go into detail about the problems with statements like these! Clearly, there are concerns with any adoption, just as there are challenges and joys inherent to parenting any child. Children who are in the foster care system in this country, entered that system for one reason and one reason alone — abuse or neglect. Children enter the orphanage system in other countries for various reasons, yes, one of them may be abuse, but more commonly, it is because of poverty or cultural pressures that a child cannot remain with his or her family of origin. Are either great options for a kid? Nope. Will both kids bear the scars of his or her rough beginnings? You bet. But that certainly doesn’t mean one child is more deserving, does it?

Rather than getting into a debate about why anyone would choose to adopt from Russia rather than Springfield or choose China over Chicago, isn’t is just sufficient to say that unless we know all our options, it just isn’t possible to make a real informed decision? And if we do know all the facts, does it matter what decision we make, as long as we make it for the right reasons?

There are many roads to becoming a family. If you are currently studying the map, trying to decide which road is the best one for you, a word of caution. More than what you think and feel, take the time to examine why it is you think and feel as you do. Our impressions and opinions are shaped over time and often by influences that we do not even consciously acknowledge. Take each step deliberately and choose your direction based on fact, not opinion . . . and be sure to take time to figure out the difference."