Madonna Adoption Request Rejected

If we were in the mood to be cynical, we’d say that adopting bunches of children from third world countries was something of a celebrity trend. Just look at the brood that Angelina Jolie has assembled. However, it also makes a lot of sense if you think about it. There are a disturbingly large number of children in the world that have no families and live in intolerable conditions. Who better to take them in than a celeb with tons of money and space to spare?

When Madonna adopted her son David from the impoverished African nation of Malawi back in 2006, there were plenty of headlines about the adoption and questions whether the pop star had been allowed to skip over some of the red tape that a less famous foreigner would have had to deal with. This time, however, the headlines are being generated for a far different reason. A judge rejected her request to adopt a second child: Chifundo “Mercy” James, age three. The judge stated that it would be bending the rules to allow her to sidestep the requirement that states prospective parents must live in the country for a period of time.

While Madonna has been praised by officials for the charity work that she’s accomplished in the country, the judge stated that the country needed to be careful to avoid “opening the doors too wide” to foreigners seeking adoption. It was also made clear that the little girl in question was receiving care deemed as “suitable” in her current orphanage, as opposed to David’s situation over two years ago.