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Forming Families: National Adoption Awareness Week

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Adoption has been practiced in various ways in almost every community and culture throughout history, yet in Australia it has never been more difficult to adopt a child. Why is it easier for prospective parents to find donor eggs, donor sperm, embryos and surrogate mothers than it is to adopt an abandoned child from an international orphanage? Is it likely to be easier or more difficult for prospective parents to adopt in future? And what influence does government have in international adoption?

In this special breakfast edition of the Fifth Estate, Sally Warhaft is joined by international guests Deborra-lee Furness, acclaimed actress and founder of National Adoption Awareness Week, and Dr Jane Aronson, paediatrician, adoption specialist, and founder of Worldwide Orphans, to discuss national and international adoption policy, programs and problems.

Featuring

Jane Aronson

Dr Jane Aronson is a paediatrician, adoption medicine specialist and the founder and CEO of Worldwide Orphans, a non-profit organisation that provides direct services to orphaned children globally. She is on faculty at Cornell University, Columbia University and Mt Sinai School of Medicine. Her many... Read more

Deborra-lee Furness

Deborra-lee Furness is an internationally acclaimed actor as well as a passionate supporter of children and defender of their human rights across the globe. She founded National Adoption Awareness Week in Australia when she recognised the great need to address what needs to be done in serving abando... Read more

Sally Warhaft

Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year, a Wheeler Centre podcast about Australians’ lives in the fog of ... Read more

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The Wheeler Centre

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