DYERSBURG, Tenn. (WTVC) — A Tennessee family has been in the process of adopting a young boy from China for over four years.
But sadly, that may never happen now, with China changing their adoption laws.
Tens of thousands of children from China have been adopted by families around the world for more than 30 years.
But last week, China announced it would no longer be allowing the practice.
For families in the process of adopting children from China, the decision has caused heartbreak and confusion.
Image via the Nunley family.
The Nunley family is from Dyersburg, Tennessee. They adopted their son JT from China in 2015.
Currently, they are in the process of adopting another little boy, but now they’re unsure if he will ever be able to come home to them.
“A lot of the children have been informed that they were matched, and I think that would be very sad for kids to think that they had families coming to get them, and then they never show up.”
The Nunley’s have been waiting for their newest family member to come home since 2020.
“Our son began to wish for a sibling, and so we began to pray and to think about what we wanted to do. Using the same program, the same adoption agency that we had used with JT, we were able to find this precious boy who we call Sam.”
This is Sam. He’s currently in the city of Shenyang, China:
Sam. Image via the Nunley family.
Last Thursday, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning announced China’s decision to end the foreign adoption policy.
“China will not send children abroad for adoption,” Ning said.”
“This is also in line with the spirit of relevant international covenants, Ning added.”
Now, families in the process of adopting are left with no answers.
“That’s the sad thing is, you know, the adoption agencies don’t have answers. They don’t know what their next steps are supposed to be.”
American World Adoption is the agency the Nunley family used for both their children.
Image via the Nunley family.
A spokesperson for the agency said they are waiting on further clarification from the U.S. Department of State.
We reached out to U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann on what he is doing to get clarity for families.
“I am very disappointed and disheartened that China, under the despotic control of the Chinese Communist Party, is ending foreign adoptions,” he said. “My wife and I have personal friends who’ve adopted beautiful babies from China and this evil and wrongheaded decision to ban all foreign adoptions of Chinese children who are in desperate need of loving families is egregiously wrong. I am urging Secretary of State Blinken and the Biden Administration to urge China to allow Chinese children to be adopted by Tennessean and American families who simply want to adopt and raise a child with all the love they can give.”
As for the Nunley’s, they are still holding onto hope.
“We just pray that China would reconsider the decision they’ve made, for whatever reasons. Forget the politics, forget whatever’s going on the world. That’s not a big deal. It’s about people, it’s about children, and it’s about families.”
The National Council for Adoption has a form on their website you can fill out to send to local representatives to urge congress to ask the State Department to get clarity from China.
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