Jenna HarbisonGlobal Society4/21/14The Practice of AdoptionThe idea of ​​adoption has been around much longer than the formal legal system of adoption in place today. There is a passage in the Bible that details Esther's adoption by her cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Babylonians all had their own adoption systems. Adoption systems differ from country to country. U.S. citizens adopting internationally today allow for the blending of cultures, languages, traditions, and ideals. In contrast, the practice of adult adoption in Japan is a particularly interesting system used quite differently and reflects much of traditional Japanese culture itself. In the United States, the first adoption law was passed in Massachusetts in 1851. This law called the 1851 Adoption of Children Act bases adoptions on the welfare of the children rather than benefits to the adoptive parents. This law guaranteed the judicial discretion of “fit and proper” parents. Another milestone for adoption came in 1868 when the Massachusetts State Board...