George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin Stay Silent Amid Adoption Rumors

Newlyweds George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are reportedly looking to adopt.

The Daily Mail claims Woman's Day magazine is running a story about how the couple is making plans to welcome their first child into the family. But, a quick search on Woman's Day's site lead to no mention of adoption — just lots of wedding hearsay.

According to the "source," the Clooney-Alamuddins are looking to adopt a child from a "war-torn" country. More specifically, they want to "use the adoption to highlight the plight of orphans in countries like Syria." This, however, cannot be done.

Gawker has pointed out that adopting from Syria is basically impossible. It cites The U.S. Embassy in Damascus for proof. "Syria, as a Shari'ah law country, does not recognize or provide for adoptions of Muslim children," the embassy's site reads.

If the Clooney-Alamuddins are indeed looking to adopt, why not from the States? The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) reports that over 397,122 youths are without a permanent home, with about 102,000 eligible for adoption. Two years ago, 7,000 orphans were adopted by U.S. families — mostly from foreign countries. That same year, 23,396 youth aged out of the system and 50% had substance use problems. While it's noble for the couple to make a statement regarding the "plight of orphans in countries like Syria," there's also a plight of orphans here on the home front (more on the topic here).

The Clooney-Alamuddins have not issued a statement at the time of publishing.