This contribution focuses on the perceived tensions in the discussions surrounding the societal significance of the program Spoorloos and the (potentially) adoption-critical issues that it has raised since its inception. What follows first outlines the historical context of Spoorloos, followed by a discussion of the scope and potential contribution of an adoption-critical perspective within the broad field of 'adoption studies. Finally, the contribution zooms in on the relationship between Spoorloos and the adoption-critical discourse (in a broad sense). The central question is to what extent the ethical issues surrounding Spoorloos play a role in the public perception of the program and, consequently, to what extent these publicly expressed ethical considerations about the program contain adoption-critical elements regarding the practice of transnational adoption.