Switzerland Plans International Adoption Ban Following Historical Investigation

Swiss government moves to prohibit international adoptions after study reveals systematic irregularities in past practices, affecting thousands of cases between 1970-1999.

Key Takeaways

Swiss government plans to ban all international adoptions
Investigation revealed systematic irregularities in adoptions between 1970-1999
Several thousand children were brought to Switzerland through illegal practices
Current international adoptions in Switzerland have dropped to around 30 per year

By The Numbers

1000

Annual adoptions in the 1980s

Current annual international adoptions

They Said

"There are always loopholes. We have kids who were born in California, from a surrogate mother where there's an open and legal process to have a mother for hire."
— Philip Jaffé

"We're going to prohibit it now when we have only 30 adoptions in Switzerland [a year], but in the Eighties we had a thousand."
— Philip Jaffé

Swiss Government Announces International Adoption Ban

Historical Investigation Reveals Systematic Issues

Impact and Scope of Past Irregularities

Expert Perspectives and Implementation Challenges

Future Implications and Policy Considerations

Sources & References

Why countries are banning international adoptions

SWI swissinfo.ch