Adoption: A Gift of Life

A woman recently told me about a woman she knew that wished she had been aborted because her adoptive mother was so abusive. How tragic that the gift of life was tarnished in this way! The adoptees I know are grateful that their birth mother was brave enough to choose life for them. As a matter of fact, adoption is a significant and celebrated part of my family culture.

Abortion activists and the liberal media, it would seem, are more in favor of pet adoption than child adoption. For every adoption referral Planned Parenthood made in 2022-23, 187 babies were aborted, according to their annual report for those years (Lozier Institute). Women seeking pregnancy help were sold an abortion 96.9% of the time. Adoption referrals accounted for only .5% of total services.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the conception, pregnant women have (at least) 4 basic options: abort the child, raise the child, surrender the child at a safe haven, or go through the adoption process. An attorney for Jackson Women’s Health claimed that it is “75 times more dangerous to give birth in Mississippi than to have a pre-viability abortion” (nymag.com, 12/21). I don’t know where she got that unbelievable statistic, but if that were indeed the case, it sounds more like the need for obstetrics reform than abortion access.

In The 40 Film, an interviewee discusses common reasons women do not want to have a child. They stem more from age, mental and financial stability, and lack of support than going through the pregnancy itself. One could think, then, that adoption would be the best solution, but the party line is that adoption is too daunting, too expensive, too painful for the mother. This argument asserts that if abortions are unavailable, “forcing” a woman to give up her child creates an undue burden. This reasoning is short-sighted in this age of choice and resources. In research done by Gretchen Sisson (nymag.com, 12/21), of 956 abortion-seeking women who were denied abortion access, 90% chose to parent. Of the 10% who still did not want to raise a child, they chose adoption. The Journal of Medical Ethics reported (2021) that 96% of women who were refused abortion did not regret having the child five years later. How does abortion significantly enter the equation here?

Admittedly, adoption (like abortion) could trigger guilt, trauma, or remorse. That is why healing for both is important. Adoption, however, preserves life and enables mom to be proactive rather than reactive. Adoption may be painful, but it’s positive. So, if it’s choice you’re looking for, taking away the abortion option still leaves mom with at least 3 of them. Sounds like a great compromise to me.

Learn more at Missouri Right to Life – Western Region.