AN ADOPTION ATTORNEY WHO DOESN'T GET IT

A birthmother friend stumbled upon this story. I know that I replied to it as did several other people. It is shocking to me that this man feels this way. A friend of mine had to go in to get a verification test for Medicaid. She is pregnant and had to get this test in order to receive Medicaid benefits for herself and her new baby. She went to a crisis pregnancy center in Vernon, Texas. She did not have the money to go to a doctor. She, her husband, and her two year old son went to this place. She was asked three times to give her child up for adoption while her husband and child were there with her. She was even asked her religion. When she told them, they asked her if it was even a Christian religion. She was also forced to watch an anti-abortion video. Not once through out this process was she asked about parenting her own child. She had to go through all of this in order to get the results of her pregnancy test. She asked why aren't all options given equal standing. They just looked at her hostilely. She knew that from me. All this happened a couple of months ago. To this day, mothers while still under the effects of heavy medication are having adoption papers forced upon them. Why is that even legal? Minors are allowed to sign these papers as adults. Parental consent is not even required. Parental consent is required with abortion. Why aren't more parents standing up about this? Do you want your child or even grown daughter to have to face an attorney like this one? I don't. He is also from South Carolina. I have also reported on that state mandating pregnant women who are "suspected" of doing drugs be drug tested. Do you really think that is just suspect women? I don't. I think that they drug test every poor woman that comes in. Just to have a chance to take a baby away from its mother. Now the FDA wants to test people for a possibility of a public health hazard. They are taking away the right to informed consent for people. Well I would consider drug abuse a public health hazard. That article can be found here: http:msnbc.com/id/131922681 This country is getting more to a point where all of our rights are being taken away. Check out these articles. Do what you can to become more informed and do something about it

Adoption realities

Fletcher D. Thompson, Spartanburg
Published June 11, 2006

http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS/606110304/1021/OPINION


An article by Linda Conley in the June 2 issue of the Herald-Journal discusses a recent book titled "The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade." The book depicts the sad plight of some unwed mothers who describe being pressured to place their babies for adoption.

I think it is important for your readers to know that the circumstances these unfortunate women describe was not the norm then
and, more importantly, bears no similarity to conditions in South Carolina today.

Our current adoption law, enacted in 1986, ensures that a birth mother is protected and that her baby cannot be placed for adoption without prior counseling and written consent witnessed by a person trained in adoption issues or by an attorney who does not represent the adoptive parents.

As an attorney, I have focused on adoption work for 30 years, and I have found that, when properly handled, the adoption process consistently brings joy and gratitude to everyone involved -- first to the birth mother who has demonstrated the love and courage necessary to give life to a child but recognizes that for multiple reasons it is in the best interest of the child to place her infant with a caring and grateful adopting couple; to the adopting couple who, in most instances, are unable to have biological children but long to be loving and caring parents; and most importantly to the child who is placed in a loving and stable home.

Approximately 2 percent of women facing an unplanned pregnancy choose adoption. Those who choose adoption act out of love, not abandonment. Adoption is a loving and unselfish decision, and birth mothers should be respected. Your article focuses on the exception and not the rule.