In preparation for her upcoming trip to Guatemala, Marta was mentally preparing to pack her suitcase. Before her was a pile of kids' clothes, toys, books, crayons and candies. As has often happened in recent times, she was trying to figure out how to fit her own clothing and other necessities into the suitcase, along with all the things she was taking on the trip for "her son."

Marta, who prefers to have her real identity remain anonymous, is one of thousands of people who live in the United States but whose heart remains in Guatemala with the children they are hoping will soon become their own. But for now the hope of being able to provide for a young orphan who would otherwise be destined to a life of solitude in one of the poorest countries in the hemisphere is marred by a government crackdown on questionable adoptions.

Guatemala is one of the most popular places in the world for adoptions, so much so that the tourism industry promotes special packages for prospective adoptive parents. The long and complicated process in the United States to adopt a child has driven thousands of Americans to Guatemala, where an adoption can take place in a matter of a few months and with minor bureaucracy. Last year alone, 4,000 Guatemalan babies were adopted by American families. However, the swift adoption process has turned out to be a double-edged sword.

In recent times, there have been numerous scandals as a somber picture emerged of unscrupulous tactics and fraud used by some of those involved in the adoption process: Mothers whose children were snatched from their arms, never to be seen again, and those who were coerced into giving up their kids for money. As a result, some of the adoptions already in progress were postponed while both U.S. and Guatemalan authorities investigated their legitimacy.

For Marta, that meant having a second DNA test done on the 4-year-old boy she planned to bring into her family and the woman who gave him up for adoption claiming to be his mother. The results showed that the woman was not his biological mother, and now a judge must determine whether the state has done everything possible to find the birth mother and allow the adoption to go through.

But for many adoptive parents like Marta, a new and potentially devastating obstacle has emerged. Guatemala President Oscar Berger has proposed that all adoptions by U.S. families be halted on Jan. 1, 2008. At that time, a set of new rules would go into effect based on the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The convention sets uniform international guidelines for adoptions, mainly calling for the government and not the private sector to oversee the adoption process.

While many agree that the new rules might -- in some cases -- help to protect the children and their biological parents, they will also make the adoption process a lot more complicated for adoptive parents.

Thousands of families who have already begun the process are concerned that their cases will not be grandfathered in and could potentially be thrown out. But more importantly, they are concerned about as many as 5,000 children who would remain in legal limbo, even though their birth parents have already relinquished their parental rights.

The Joint Council on International Children's Services also is concerned about the effect that Berger's decision could have on Guatemalan orphans. Therefore, it has launched a campaign called the "Guatemala 5000 Initiative," asking Americans to contact members of Congress in the U.S. this week and urge them to support a letter written by the council to the Guatemalan government and representatives of UNICEF asking them to respect the adoptions already in process.

Until that happens, Marta cannot help but think about all the children she has met in orphanages during her travels to Guatemala. She can't help but wonder how they would react, knowing that those whom they thought would be their parents could disappear from their lives. And, as she tries to fit her belongings into a suitcase packed with kids' stuff, she wonders if that little boy who already calls her "Mom" will someday be her son.

Maria Elena Salinas can be reached at www.mariaesalinas.com.

(Oct. 6, 2007)