Can I Adopt a Child If I Have a Health Condition?

Friends in Adoption is occasionally asked by a prospective adoptive parent if they would be disqualified from adopting a child because of a health condition, either past or present.

Like a prospective biological parent, having a health condition does not automatically disqualify a prospective adoptive parent from being an effective parent. In fact, many people with health conditions whose doctors determine that the condition is controlled are approved to adopt a child (after going through the home study process) because the health assessment discusses each person’s ability to be an effective parent. Plenty of individual parents, birth and adoptive, live with health issues and are competent and compassionate parents, so if adoptive parenting is your dream, you should talk with your doctor and prospective agency about it.