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SARS Raises Fears Over Adoption in China
Aired April 25, 2003 - 14:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Each year, thousands of American couples go to China to bring home Chinese orphans they have adopted. Last year, 5,053 orphans were brought to the U.S. from China, and now there are concerns the SARS outbreak might complicate these adoptions somewhat.
Suzanne Reeves (ph) of Nashville reports two problems to us, though. She returned from China yesterday with her new daughter, Amelia (ph).
Congratulations, first of all, Suzanne. Good to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
O'BRIEN: All right. Did you almost cancel the trip? Did you go with some trepidation? What went through your mind?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: We didn't even consider canceling the trip. We were going to get our daughter. She was waiting for us, and it was a journey of faith through the whole process.
O'BRIEN: Did -- when you got there, what was unusual? What tipped you off that something was going on related to SARS?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Just the news when we were in the states, before we left. They were always talking about it. But once we got to Beijing, we never saw anyone in masks. We never saw anyone in masks or taking serious precautions in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or Huan (ph) but finally when we got to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we saw a few people in the airport, but those were mostly foreigners.
O'BRIEN: Wow. And did you -- along the way, did you take any sort of different precautions than you might have otherwise?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: We just had, you know, very strong sanitary precautions. We would sanitize our hands with the hand sanitizer, wash our hands a lot, try to not be in big crowds. When we were on our touring days we would not go to places that were just packed with people. Those were our only precautions.
O'BRIEN: And were you concerned that Amelia might, unwittingly she might have the virus in her bloodstream somehow?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: No, not really. She came from a pretty remote area, and so she's been pretty sheltered. My only concern was when she got to us and we started running around China. But, no, we really had no concerns.
O'BRIEN: How much time did you spend in the country?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: I was there for two weeks. We arrived, I believe, on the 9th, and we returned home yesterday.
O'BRIEN: All right. And what about -- I know people who make these adoptions, it's kind of a tight network of people. Hello, Amelia. Have you heard from some of them? And has anybody that you know, have they cancelled a trip or delayed a trip or done anything like that?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: No, nobody is canceling. Because, like I said, they're going to get their daughters, and we've been working on this for two years. The only way we wouldn't go is if they wouldn't let us go.
O'BRIEN: Yes. And I suppose when you're talking about who is after all your daughter, you're willing to take some risks, aren't you?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: And Amelia seems no worse for the wear at all. How's it been going so far for you?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: It's been going well. We've had a little jet lag, but she's a wonderful baby and she's a happy girl. She's very healthy.
O'BRIEN: She is as easy-going as they get. Where do you think -- are you concerned that this is going to come to the United States? Do you have a sense of it anyway?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: I don't think so. I think if people just are aware and use good precautionary measures, I really don't think it will be that much of a problem.
O'BRIEN: Are we making too much of it perhaps? Is that what your message would be? I mean, on the one hand, you don't want to let your guard down, as Elizabeth Cohen was just saying. On the other hand, do we make too much of it.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Right. I think we have made too much of it. I would e-mail and speak to my husband and he would watch the news, and it sounded like everyone in China had a mask on and it was mass hysteria, and when I would talk to him and tell him how it was, what I was experiencing, it was complete opposite.
O'BRIEN: Excellent. All right, well, congratulations to the Reeves family.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Welcome, Amelia. She is precious. She really is.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us, we appreciate it. That's Suzanne Reeves, along with Amelia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 25, 2003 - 14:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Each year, thousands of American couples go to China to bring home Chinese orphans they have adopted. Last year, 5,053 orphans were brought to the U.S. from China, and now there are concerns the SARS outbreak might complicate these adoptions somewhat.
Suzanne Reeves (ph) of Nashville reports two problems to us, though. She returned from China yesterday with her new daughter, Amelia (ph).
Congratulations, first of all, Suzanne. Good to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.
O'BRIEN: All right. Did you almost cancel the trip? Did you go with some trepidation? What went through your mind?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: We didn't even consider canceling the trip. We were going to get our daughter. She was waiting for us, and it was a journey of faith through the whole process.
O'BRIEN: Did -- when you got there, what was unusual? What tipped you off that something was going on related to SARS?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Just the news when we were in the states, before we left. They were always talking about it. But once we got to Beijing, we never saw anyone in masks. We never saw anyone in masks or taking serious precautions in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or Huan (ph) but finally when we got to (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we saw a few people in the airport, but those were mostly foreigners.
O'BRIEN: Wow. And did you -- along the way, did you take any sort of different precautions than you might have otherwise?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: We just had, you know, very strong sanitary precautions. We would sanitize our hands with the hand sanitizer, wash our hands a lot, try to not be in big crowds. When we were on our touring days we would not go to places that were just packed with people. Those were our only precautions.
O'BRIEN: And were you concerned that Amelia might, unwittingly she might have the virus in her bloodstream somehow?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: No, not really. She came from a pretty remote area, and so she's been pretty sheltered. My only concern was when she got to us and we started running around China. But, no, we really had no concerns.
O'BRIEN: How much time did you spend in the country?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: I was there for two weeks. We arrived, I believe, on the 9th, and we returned home yesterday.
O'BRIEN: All right. And what about -- I know people who make these adoptions, it's kind of a tight network of people. Hello, Amelia. Have you heard from some of them? And has anybody that you know, have they cancelled a trip or delayed a trip or done anything like that?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: No, nobody is canceling. Because, like I said, they're going to get their daughters, and we've been working on this for two years. The only way we wouldn't go is if they wouldn't let us go.
O'BRIEN: Yes. And I suppose when you're talking about who is after all your daughter, you're willing to take some risks, aren't you?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Exactly. Exactly.
O'BRIEN: And Amelia seems no worse for the wear at all. How's it been going so far for you?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: It's been going well. We've had a little jet lag, but she's a wonderful baby and she's a happy girl. She's very healthy.
O'BRIEN: She is as easy-going as they get. Where do you think -- are you concerned that this is going to come to the United States? Do you have a sense of it anyway?
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: I don't think so. I think if people just are aware and use good precautionary measures, I really don't think it will be that much of a problem.
O'BRIEN: Are we making too much of it perhaps? Is that what your message would be? I mean, on the one hand, you don't want to let your guard down, as Elizabeth Cohen was just saying. On the other hand, do we make too much of it.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Right. I think we have made too much of it. I would e-mail and speak to my husband and he would watch the news, and it sounded like everyone in China had a mask on and it was mass hysteria, and when I would talk to him and tell him how it was, what I was experiencing, it was complete opposite.
O'BRIEN: Excellent. All right, well, congratulations to the Reeves family.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Welcome, Amelia. She is precious. She really is.
UNIDENITFIED FEMALE: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thanks for being with us, we appreciate it. That's Suzanne Reeves, along with Amelia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
