Adoption

http://bulletins.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bulletin.read&authorID=191557476&messageID=6583746655

PRO-ABORTION ARGUMENT:

"It's unfair for an unmarried woman to have to face the embarrassment of pregnancy or the pain of giving up a child for adoption."



PRO-LIFE ANSWER:
Adoption is a fine alternative that avoids the burden of child raising, while saving a life and making a family happy.

I am amazed at the negative light in which adoption is often portrayed in prochoice literature. Prochoice advocates Carole Anderson and Lee Campbell say of adoption, "The unnecessary seperation of mothers and children is a cruel, but regrettably usual, punishment that can last a lifetime." It is not adoption that is cruel; what is cruel is an innocent child's death, and a woman's lifelong guilt when she realizes she has killed her child. Adoption is hardly a "punishment" to a woman carrying a child. It is a heaven-sent alternative to raising a child she is unprepared to raise, or to killing that same child.

According to the National Committee for adoption, there are over 2 million American couples waiting to adopt children. With proper education and a positive portrayal of adoption, even this number could be increased. Yet each year while 16. million children are being killed by abortion, only 50,000 new children are made available for adoption. This means that for every new adoptable child, thirty others are killed. For every couple that adopts, another forty wait in line. Tragically, most women with unwanted pregnancies are not given accurate information about the adoption alternative.

A study by Edmund Mech showed that nearly 40% of pregnancy counselors did not include adoption as an option in their counseling. Another 40% were uncertain or provided inaccurate information on adoption. Conversely, 68% could provide accurate information on abortion clinic locations.

The adoption option is much more healthy for everyone involved, not only for the child but for the adoptive parents, society, and the pregnant woman herself. By carrying a child to term, a young woman accepts responsibility for her choices and grows and matures. She can then look back with pride and satisfaction that she did the right thing by allowing her child both life and a good family. (Of course, adoption is only one alternative-the young woman may choose to keep the baby and raise him herself. Either alternative is viable. The one that isn't is the one that kills a baby.)