Medical Diagnosis: Can I adopt?
Adoptive parents, like most parents, do not have to have perfect health to parent a child. It is possible to adopt a child if you have a current or previous medical diagnosis. Domestic adoption is usually more accepting of a medical diagnosis than international adoption. Acceptable medical diagnosis are at the discretion of the adoption agency, home study provider, state regulations, and country.
The most frequently asked question related to adoption is “What If I have taken medication for depression or anxiety.” We understand that these issues may be more common in women who have experienced fertility problems. Barring an ongoing major medical diagnosis, this should not affect the ability to adopt.
Most medical diagnosis are acceptable as long as they do not pose a potential health threat to the child, don’t effect the ability to parent a child, and do not effect the parent’s lifespan. In addition, parents who have previously had a life threating illness can adopt when a reasonable amount of time has passed, and there is little too no chance of recurrence.