I came across this piece in a newspaper out of Illinois. It was in response to this article in this newspaper. It seems as reading over some of the stories, they are sure writing many articles on the pros and cons of adoption. What really stuck out at me is that this woman hopes to reunite with her "adopted" child." Uhmmm Excuse me. She isn't yours yet. This is all part of adoption. Your child is still a referrel. Have you signed all the paperwork? Have you ensure that your adoption will be a legal one? Do you have your child's records of their birth? Somehow I think this would all fall on deaf ears. Other stories are here, here, and here, That is just the tip of the iceberg.
With the push to make adoption more acceptable, Churches, right to life groups, the NCFA, and many others only want to put a positive spin on adoption. As an adoptee, I don't think all adoption is bad. I believe in foster care adoption. I believe that our country needs to take care of our own first. They are also being sent to other countries like Canada and Great Britain which don't have the racist view on adoption. I have heard from social workers in the industry that most prospective adoptive parents don't want an African American child. With infant adoption, I also believe that the mother needs to be aware of all the consequences of her choice, the consequences of parenting, adoption and abortion. Its a hard decision no matter what you say or do.
A quote from a dear friend of mine, an adoptee. I hope she doesn't mind that I am posting it here:
No more sealed records bullshit.
No more pretending that the child is "as if born to".
The child has parents, no matter how good or bad those parents were, and every adopted person deserves the rights and dignity of being able to KNOW who and where they came from.We can stop pretending that adoption cures all. Even your abused foster kids, who might not see being adopted as a loss, are losing. They have "lost" the love and protection that their parents SHOULD have given them. It can't feel to good to have been abused by the very people who should have done everything in their power to take care of you, and whether you are removed from the home and adopted or not, that is a huge loss. Oh, and we can stop all the UNNECESSARY infant adoptions, you know, the ones that take place because we as a society deem youth and marital status as good reasons to make her feel like she can't care for the child. Perhaps in trying to change this materialistic culture around, we could give the infant a role...the role of being with his/her OWN family.
Her voice is a powerful voice to be heard.
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