The topic of adoption has become nearer and dearer to my heart in the past few years as the wife of an adoptee (one of five) who also has several adopted nieces, nephews, and cousins. Adoption is a significant and celebrated part of the family culture. Abortion activists and the liberal media, it would seem, are more in favor of pet adoption than child adoption. As a matter of fact, for every adoption referral Planned Parenthood makes, 133 babies are aborted, according to their 2109 annual report in which abortions increased by 2.6% and adoption referrals dropped by 37.6% (LifeNews, 2/22/21).
Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the conception, pregnant women have (at least) 4 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 claims 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 more than going through the pregnancy itself. This would cause one to think that adoption would be the best solution. But now we’re hearing that adoption is too daunting, too expensive, too painful for the mother. In other words, the mom’s mental health and finances trump the child’s life.
So 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. 90%.
So why is abortion access so important again? Of the 10% who still did not want to raise a child, they chose adoption. I don’t see how abortion significantly enters 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 moms 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 3 other choices. Sounds like a great compromise to me.