Tonight’s “48 Hours” report on the dark side of international adoptions is the result of years of investigation by Maureen Maher and the CBS newsmagazine’s production team.
“Several years ago, we investigated questionable adoptions in Samoa and the impact of that report inspired us to keep digging into the topic. I am adopted, so this is a subject of great interest to me,” Maher told TVNewser. “Adoption is an amazing, wonderful opportunity for all parties when done correctly. However, our reporting over the past few years has revealed that some families have faced extreme challenges when attempting to adopt from other countries.”
The “48 Hours” investigation, which airs tonight at 10pmET, focuses on a small adoption agency in Florida. Maher follows the Owens family (pictured) as they attempt to adopt children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and another woman as she goes through the process to adopt children from Guatemala. As part of the investigation, Maher also interviewed the birth mother of the Guatemalan children, who tells the harrowing story of how both children were taken from her.
“At the heart of what we do at ’48 Hours’ is to report on stories about normal families who have been put into extraordinary situations,” Maher said. “And that is certainly true for this week’s broadcast, ‘Perilous Journey.'”