David M. Smolin

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David M. Smolin
David Smolin.jpg
David M. Smolin
Born
New York City, US
Education University of Cincinnati College of Law
Alma mater New College of Florida
Known forDirector for The Center for Children, Law, and Ethics
Children8
Scientific career
FieldsLaw
Institutions Cumberland School of Law

David Mark Smolin is a professor of law at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he is the Harwell G. Davis Chair in Constitutional Law, [1] director for The Center for Children, Law, and Ethics, former director of the Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics, [2] and faculty advisor for the Law, Science and Technology Society.

Contents

Smolin deals with international adoption scandals (see child laundering) [3] [4] [5] and is the creator of an informational website on international adoption called Adopting Internationally. [4] [6] He has been interviewed and submitted content on the subject to National Public Radio, [7] ABC News, [8] Al Jazeera, [9] The New York Times, [10] [11] The Salt Lake Tribune, [3] CBC Radio, [12] Radio Netherlands [13] [14] and others. [15] [16]

He presented on adoption issues at the Korean Women's Development Institute in Seoul, Korea, the Second International Symposium on Korean Adoption Studies in Seoul, Korea, and (as an independent expert) at the Hague Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Hague Adoption Convention.

His law review article, Child Laundering , written in 2005, won Cumberland's inaugural Lightfoot, Franklin and White Faculty Scholarship Award for the most significant scholarly work published during the preceding year, [17] and is consistently listed in the 10 Most Popular Articles in the bepress Legal Series. [18]

His own family's international adoption, discovery that their children were stolen, and ultimately successful, though arduous, six year search for the girls' original birth family in India was featured on NPR's Morning Edition, titled Adoption Stories Gone Bad, [7] and by ABC News. [8]

Career

Smolin graduated first in his class and Order of the Coif from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of inter-country adoption, and a nationally recognized expert in Bioethics and Biotechnology, Reproductive Constitutional law, [19] Family and Juvenile law, and Law and Religion. He has testified before legislative committees in the U.S. Congress, as well as in five states on constitutional issues.

Smolin joined the Cumberland faculty in 1987 after clerking for Senior Judge George Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1986-1987. Prior to that Smolin worked in a psychiatric hospital. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the interdenominational Beeson Divinity School. [20]

Smolin is the author of over 35 articles, primarily published as law reviews, though some of his works have appeared in journals such as First Things .

Much of Smolin's academic work concerns international adoption, child trafficking and child laundering.

Inter-country adoption

Al Jazeera interview - Stolen Babies - People and Power segment

On June 24, 2009 Smolin appeared in an interview with Al Jazeera on the subject of stolen babies from Guatemala, (see Human trafficking, Child laundering) [9] after both the US Department of Justice and the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the US State Department declined to be interviewed and declined to comment on the subject. [9] Smolin referred to his own situation involving his stolen adopted daughters and said that there is no easy solution to child laundering because it is usually successful and too often the perfect crime. [9] He went on to say that the Office of Children's Issues at the State Department should immediately facilitate DNA testing of the children and mothers who claim their children were stolen. He said adoptive parents should attempt to acquire DNA testing of their adoptive children so that they can form partnerships with the birth family. [9]

Celebrity adoptions and the subsidiarity principle

Smolin has said that celebrity adoptions highlight the problems with inter-country adoption. [11] While not being expressly opposed to celebrity adoption or international adoption, Smolin believes in the need for an implementation of the subsidiarity principle as it relates to international adoption because the huge amount of money channeled into adopting a child pales in comparison to the relatively small amount of money that could, in many circumstances, be used to reunite broken families and improve conditions within the child's culture and country of origin. [21] He states the need to:

Reform international adoption by putting a priority on keeping children in their original family and within their community. [22]

Smolin also believes that without a safe adoption system, comparatively wealthy families seeking to adopt children from impoverished nations are in a position to exploit that poverty, and where $20–30,000 may be spent to adopt a child, several hundred dollars may be all that is needed to reunite a child with that child's family and substantially improve conditions within the child's community. In general he believes that one major problem with international adoption is that the adoptions system is corrupted by far too much money and that there are no real consequences for violating adoption regulations. [21]

Debate with Jane Aronson

On June 16, 2009 Smolin debated Jane Aronson on the topic of celebrity adoptions for CBC Radio. Both showed appreciation for one another with Smolin stating he admired Aronson's work in helping orphanages and improving international communities which are the sources for adoptive children, and Aronson stating "I'm glad to be on the program with you David because you're a smart and warm human being."

Aronson stated the issue is poverty and that there is no social services network to provide for the families. Smolin's views are, in part, stated above.

Cumberland School of Law Symposium on International Adoption

On April 15, 2005 Smolin, with the cooperation of Cumberland School of Law, hosted a Symposium on International adoption. The purpose was to "take advantage of the gathered expertise to explore the question of how international adoption can be reformed to ensure respect for the rights and dignity of birth families, children and adoptive families [the adoption triad].". [23]

Richard Cross, a senior special agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] assigned to the ICE Human Trafficking Unit in Seattle, Washington, spoke at the event. His entire lecture and audio file from the lecture are available for download on Cumberland's website. [24]

Richard Cross, the lead federal investigator for the prosecution of Lauryn Galindo for visa fraud and money laundering involved in Cambodian adoptions, estimated that most of the 800 adoptions Galindo facilitated were fraudulent--either based on fraudulent paperwork, coerced/induced/recruited relinquishments, babies bought, identities of the children switched, etc. [25]

Adopting Internationally website

Smolin and his wife launched Adopting Internationally website, a website meant to provide information regarding "the complex issues associated with international adoption." The site includes personal stories and academic analysis. [26]

The site is also based, in part, on the Smolin's personal experience in the field of international adoption, and the Smolins are unabashedly dedicated to reforming intercountry adoption "so that it may consistently and reliably assist all members of the adoption triad (birth families, adoptees, and adoptive families)."

Biotechnology, law and ethics

Smolin heads Cumberland Law School's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics, a center unlike any other of its kind in the United States. [27] Research focuses on contemporary bioethics dilemmas and issues related to the Center's Annual Symposium, which is typically co-sponsored by the Cumberland Law Review.

The Center has attracted numerous experts including ethicist Gregory Pence, atmospheric scientist John Christy, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis. Each year the Cumberland Law Review typically publishes an issue featuring articles by visiting speakers.

Human rights

Smolin is a human rights advocate but approaches the international movement with concerns, which can be summed up in the conclusion to his paper Will International Human Rights Be Used as a Tool of Cultural Genocide? The Interaction of Human Rights Norms, Religion, Culture, and Gender published by the Journal of Law and Religion.

Smolin's basic view regarding the scope of the international movement is that not all worthy human causes deserve to be labeled or acted upon as a right. He believes that doing so could erode or destroy the most basic human rights if the international movement gained enough power to enact all of its goals.

Background

Education

Personal life

Smolin was born in New York City, USA. His mother was the playwright Pauline Smolin, and his father was Michael Smolin, an environmental and process engineer. His brother Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist.

His wife is Desiree Smolin. They have eight children, two of whom were adopted from India in 1998.

Articles

Recent works

The first article won Cumberland Law School's first annual Lightfoot award for most significant scholarly paper published during the preceding year and is consistently listed in the 10 Most Popular Articles in the bepress Legal Series: [28]

Conferences

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption</span> Parenting a child in place of the original parents

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parents to the adoptive parents.

International adoption is a type of adoption in which an individual or couple residing in one country becomes the legal and permanent parent(s) of a child who is a national of another country. In general, prospective adoptive parents must meet the legal adoption requirements of their country of residence and those of the country whose nationality the child holds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafficking of children</span> Form of human trafficking

Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and exploitation. This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons". Children may also be trafficked for adoption.

In the United States, adoption is the process of creating a legal parent–child relationship between a child and a parent who was not automatically recognized as the child's parent at birth.

Interracial adoption refers to the act of placing a child of one racial or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another racial or ethnic group.

The China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) was established on June 24, 1996 by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs. The CCAA is responsible for the welfare of children in the care of Child Welfare Institutes (orphanages), domestic adoption, and international adoption.

Child laundering is a tactic used in illegal or fraudulent international adoptions. It may involve child trafficking and child acquisition through payment, deceit or force. The children may then be held in sham orphanages while formal adoption processes are used to send them to adoptive parents in another country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hague Adoption Convention</span> International convention

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international convention dealing with international adoption, child laundering, and child trafficking in an effort to protect those involved from the corruption, abuses, and exploitation which sometimes accompanies international adoption. The convention has been considered crucial because it provides a formal international and intergovernmental recognition of intercountry adoption to ensure that adoptions under the convention will generally be recognized and given effect in other party countries.

Effects of adoption on the birth mother include stigma and other psychological effects a woman experiences when she places her child for adoption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland School of Law's Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics</span>

The Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics is a bioethics, biotechnology, and biotechnology law research center of Cumberland School of Law located on the Samford University campus in Birmingham, Alabama. It is one of the few research centers of its kind at a United States law school, and, in conjunction with the Cumberland Law Review, the Center publishes an annual journal of scholarly works, which circulates in the United States and foreign countries.

Adoption in Australia deals with the adoption process in the various parts of Australia, whereby a person assumes or acquires the permanent, legal status of parenthood in relation to a child under the age of 18 in place of the child's birth or biological parents. Australia classifies adoptions as local adoptions, and intercountry adoptions. Known child adoptions are a form of local adoptions.

Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a minor from the custody of the child's natural parents or legally appointed guardians.

Child harvesting or baby harvesting refers to the systematic sale of human children, typically for adoption by families in the developed world, but sometimes for other purposes, including trafficking. The term covers a wide variety of situations and degrees of economic, social, and physical coercion. Child harvesting programs or the locations at which they take place are sometimes referred to as baby factories or baby farms.

<i>Vermont Law Review</i> Academic journal

The Vermont Law Review is a law review edited and published by students at Vermont Law School. The journal primarily publishes scholarly articles and student notes. It is one of two journals published by the school, alongside the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law. It was founded by Vermont State Superior Court Judge Mary Miles-Teachout in 1976.

Child-selling is the practice of selling children, usually by parents, legal guardians, or subsequent custodians, including adoption agencies, orphanages and Mother and Baby Homes. Where the subsequent relationship with the child is essentially non-exploitative, it is usually the case that purpose of child-selling was to permit adoption.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to adoption:

The Center for Children, Law, and Ethics is a research center at Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, directed by the internationally recognized legal scholar David Smolin. It combines the interest and involvement of law students, local, national and international advisers, to facilitate the production of scholarship and advice in the field of children's issues.

Surrogacy is legal in New Zealand if it is performed altruistically, where the surrogate donates her services selflessly, without any compensation beyond the coverage of expenses. Commercial surrogacy, where the surrogate is paid in addition to the coverage of expenses, is not legal. There is a lack of specific legislation and regulations dealing with surrogacy, though the recent increase in surrogacy cases has led to a number of amendments. New Zealand is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and ratified it in April 1993. The primary principle of this convention is that the best interests of the child are paramount, which must then encompass all surrogacy agreements and regulations. The lack of clear surrogacy legislation in New Zealand has led to many couples engaging in reproductive tourism in order to ensure the surrogacy is successful. This has the potential to significantly impact the human rights of all of the parties involved.

References

  1. "People on the Move in Birmingham". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  2. "The Investiture of Professor David M. Smolin | Cumberland School of Law". Archived from the original on 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  3. 1 2 http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11700836 Archived 2009-05-24 at the Wayback Machine The Salt Lake Tribune, Adoption scandal has prompted only minor changes, 2-14-09
  4. 1 2 "Stolen children - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - The State We're In". archive.is. 2007-06-14. Archived from the original on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  5. "Resources for Learning More | Adoption | Gender & Justice Project | Schuster Institute | Brandeis University". Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  6. "Cumberland Professors in the News | Cumberland School of Law - Birmingham, AL". Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  7. 1 2 Adoption Stories Gone Bad
  8. 1 2 "International". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2009/06/20096249112454512.html Al Jazeera interview begins at 15:27
  10. The Editors (2010-04-15). "How to Prevent Adoption Disasters". Room for Debate. Retrieved 2019-08-07.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  11. 1 2 The Editors (2009-05-10). "Celebrity Adoptions and the Real World". Room for Debate. Retrieved 2019-08-07.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. CBC radio broadcast: Celebrity Adoption The Podcast for Tuesday June 16, 2009
  13. http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.radionetherlands.nl/features/amsterdamforum/070708af-redirected Archived 2010-08-10 at the Wayback Machine For export only?
  14. http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.radionetherlands.nl/thestatewerein/otherstates/tswi070621smolin-redirected [ permanent dead link ] Stolen Children
  15. http://will.illinois.edu/focus580/interview/focus081217b Archived 2009-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Focus 580 with David Inge Illinois Public Media Dec. 17, 2008
  16. "The national infertility, adoption, & foster care education and support nonprofit". Creating a Family. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  17. http://cumberland.samford.edu/cumberlandblank.asp?ID=931 Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine Cumberland dean's news
  18. "ExpressO | bepress". law.bepress.com. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  19. Smolin, David (2005-08-29). "Child Laundering: How the Intercountry Adoption System Legitimizes and Incentivizes the Practices of Buying, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Stealing Children". Bepress Legal Series.
  20. "Beeson Divinity School faculty". Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-07-22.
  21. 1 2 "Past Podcasts | Podcasts | CBC Radio". Archived from the original on 2007-07-03.
  22. The Editors (2009-05-10). "Celebrity Adoptions and the Real World". Room for Debate. Retrieved 2019-08-23.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  23. "Belltower". Archived from the original on 2006-02-10. Retrieved 2006-05-03.
  24. Full lecture of special agent Richard Cross Richard Cross's full video and audio lecture available here Archived 2006-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  25. Desiree Smolin and David Kruchkow, Why Bad Stories Must Be Told, The Adoption Agency Checklist, Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  26. Desiree Smolin and David Kruchkow, Why the Bad Stories Must be Told, The Adoption Agency Checklist, Archived 2007-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  27. Center for Biotechnology, Law and Ethics "Cumberland School of Law, Samford University". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-07-21.