This article deals with so-called non-stepparent adoptions. In the case of non-stepparent adoptions, neither of the parents is biologically related to the child they wish to adopt. The other type concerns stepparent adoptions: the (new) partner of one of the parents adopts the child. Family ties with one parent thus remain intact, while family ties with the other parent (if there is another parent) are cut off. Stepparent adoptions are not taken into account in this article. Strictly speaking, an adoption may involve more than one child. In this article, the word adoption refers to the number of adopted children.
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