A kind poster asked this question, and it is an excellent one deserving of its own post.

I am guessing since she posted the comment she wouldn't mind me sharing the basic facts of her situation...basically she has a medical condition which results in her taking drugs that "encourage fertility." She inquired of her agency, who then inquired of Kazakhstan officials, what would happen if she was pregnant at the time of the adoption. The answer she received was she would not be allowed to adopt.

Ironically, one of the single women we travelled with adopted while pregnant. She was early in her pregnancy, and I don't think anyone ever knew the difference. I do know that in our Kazakhstan homestudy we were required to state that we were not pursuing any infertility treatments and could not have children biologically.

Based on my contact with other adoptive families, and a little research, it does appear that is one medical requirement: not pursuing fertility.

I do know Kazakhstan requires parents to be "healthy." Unlike Korea, where you cannot be more than 30% above "normal weight" (they have weight tables to help you figure it out), Kazakhstan has no formal weight requirements. China also imposes medical conditions... most of which are unwritten, but concern cancer, serious illness, mind-altering drugs, and occasionally, physical impairments such as using a wheelchair. China is not uniform in the application of these rules.

The good news is, you don't hear of many families in Kazakhstan refused due to health reasons usually. The tough part, however, is that Kazakhstan truly is a third world country. It is not wheelchair accessible, and if you require ongoing medical treatment, you won't get it in Kazakhstan. The country itself might be a barrier to adopting if you suffer from serious health conditions. Considering you will be there for 3 weeks or more, if your health would take a turn for the worse, there would be little there for you in terms of health care.

Really, China and Korea are the more stringent countries when it comes to health, but I believe every country participating in international adoption does have some minimum requirements. I think you will find in most situations that if your homestudy approves you to adopt, that is good enough for the foreign country. Again, it appears Korea and China are the exceptions.

I hope this answers your questions, and if not, feel free to follow up! Thanks for raising this important issue.