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The Brilliant, Doomed Down Syndrome Adoption Registry
Just what the abortion doctor ordered.
We're finally edging toward the middle on abortion—an agreement that most people, pro- or anti-, want to see unwanted pregnancies decreased and abortions lessened. Weird political bedmates Sens. Ted Kennedy and Sam Brownback (yes, the creepy one) have co-sponsored a bill to create a national registry of those willing to adopt children identified as having severe genetics defects like Down syndrome.
Brilliant. Doomed, but brilliant.
Whenever I hear of zealots terrorizing women at abortion clinics, as they cynically implore these besieged women to let their children be adopted, my lip curls. I was equally offended watching women on TV, (and it was always women), vent their rage on Susan Smith for the murder of her children. Of course Smith shouldn't have killed her kids (duh), but I was so enraged by the spectacle of a nation claiming they'd have loved and raised them for her instead that I checked: Unsurprisingly, there's been no spike in adoptions, not even in Smith's home town. Nor has the general stigma against adoption abated, though many Planned Parenthood Clinics are newly under siege. Hell, this 'Christian' nation doesn't care enough to educate, feed, and offer medical care to our existing children, and we're supposed to be believe people are 'pro life'?
My prediction: This national registry will flop. Protesting outside of clinics is quite different from agreeing to raise a fundamentally disabled child, as birth parents are oh-so-blithely instructed to do on pain of hellfire.
This personal anger I feel towards our society's low regard for children, women, and families goes back to my own childhood. Raised as a fire and brimstone Southern Baptist, I lived daily with the requirement to go out of one's way to do God's work: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and suffer the children. I bought all that, at least until I was old enough to realize that the clutch of buildings in our neighborhood, set way back from the street and surrounded by high walls, was an orphanage. I was flabbergasted to learn that there were children in the world without homes and families. So, logically, I asked the minister after church one Sunday why every family in the congregation didn't adopt one of those kids so they wouldn't be alone in the world. Nothing but embarrassed silence. That was the beginning of my disillusionment with public displays of one's own morality and fitness to judge others. Fighting to have children born, without fighting to ensure that each has a decent start in life, is immoral. People may be pro-birth, but I'm still waiting to be shown that they're actually pro-life.
But, go ahead: Make a liar out of me. I'll admit I was wrong if anti-abortion crusaders gin up their ferocious lobby to get this bill passed and then fill up those registry slots in a hurry. I've always believed the anti-abortion crusade was more about controlling women and parading one's own sense of self-righteousness than about 'protecting' women or 'innocent life'. Now, we'll see.
Nonetheless, kudos to Kennedy and (can't believe I'm typing this) Brownback, for showing true leadership on this thorniest of issues.
This, my friends, is progress.
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"People may be pro-birth, but I'm still waiting to be shown that they're actually pro-life."
That is the whole point in one statement.
Thanks
Doomed, and not even all that brilliant; there already exist networks for available Down Syndrome adopters (as well as other disabilities) and it didn't take legislators' time nor taxpayers' money to set them up. Frankly, the "link" between adoption and abortion rates is as nonexistent as the connection between 9/11 and Iraq. And for all the folks who blithely blather on about no child being left behind, there are thousands of unaborted kids warehoused in American foster care whom nobody is rushing to bring home. Pro-choice IS pro-life. And being truly pro-life requires some greater commitment to quality of life, as well; whether adoption always elevates the quality of a life is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps these adoption-oriented politicians ought to be focussing their efforts on helping adult adoptees access the truth of their beginnings, since most of the government registries launched for that purpose have failed adoptees miserably?
"Pro-choice IS pro-life"
Absolutely - and a good point.
Abortion is just an excuse to ignore a bigger problem. It's like throwing money at social programs without fixing the programs. It's like sending billions of dollars to Africa, only to watch it get stolen by warlords and corrupt governments.
As with most things, the government just makes a mess of things when they get involved.
Part of the reason so many children are unadopted in the U.S is because of the bureaucracy involved. This is why so many go to China, Central America, or Ukraine.
I would hope that most people agree that abortion is not the ideal solution. However, being born to a mother or family who will be a drain on the system is not ideal either.
The problem isn't lack of people, it's government interference. There is no need for a government-mandated registry. The people of the U.S are the most generous on earth...they just need be allowed the freedom to exercise that generosity.
I'm generally pro-life for a couple reasons:
1) murder is murder
2) personal responsibility
However, I don't care what people choose to do. If people want to kill babies, let them. They have to deal with it and hopefully their family line will end, along with their stupidity. I torn on the idea of exceptions, because the baby is NEVER at fault.
Pro-life zealots who protest and harass people and bomb clinics are no better.
Personally, I'm tired of people worrying about what other people are doing. Roe v. Wade is a joke and indisputably unconstitutional in that it takes away States' rights without proper ratification by the States.
It's a complicated social issue and the federal gov't has no authority in the matter.
With all due respect, Brian, there's certainly no less bureaucracy involved in adopting a child from China, Central America or the Ukraine, and certainly no less expense, either. Whether one adopts from the US foster care system or an orphanage overseas, chances are the child is not truly an orphan. In either case, the adoptive family must complete a homestudy and criminal checks in advance; however, when adopting from state foster care, there are not thousands of dollars worth of fees to be paid, and the adoption is not finalized until after you've gotten home with that child and proven, to your own satisfaction and everyone else's, that the adoption is in fact in the best interests of everyone involved.
I find this debate fascinating. The "chances are that the child is nit truly an orphan" is true with seveteen out of twenty adoptees choosing to trace their roots, and only one mother in twenty saying no to the reunion. Worse, there are judgments agianst women which are not imposed on men, so we see the last of Victorian standards being foisted onto women-as-mothers leading to adoptions that serve the child no purpose. In fact, a certain sense of rejection by your biogical family when trying to make sense of your life as a youngter is notorious within the adoptee community. Adption is rarely child-focused, so much so that there is talk of gaurdianship instead of adoption beacuse it has less of an emotional grip, or claim if you will.
If I ever decide to run for Emperor of America I would love to face some Pro-lifers on the campaign trail.My answer to them would be that I would agree to reverse Roe-vs-Wade and make abortion illegal if and only if they would all agree to a legally binding contract to adopt and raise all unwanted children or face life imprisonment if they refused even once on any grounds.It would be all or nothing, if even one of them refused, they would all go to jail.Then we would see how truly dedicated they all are.
Do I have to be willing to
Do I have to be willing to take in and care for any and all disabled people to say that it's wrong to kill disabled people? Do I have to be willing to personally provide care for elderly demetia patients if I stand up and say that they deserve to be allowed to live?
Adoption of children with Down syndrome
tagged as:- solution
I congratulate you for giving kudos to Brownback against your will. I did the same for Teddy Kennedy, as I worked for years to get the Kennedy Brownback bill passed. I gave birth to a daughter with Down syndrome 7 years ago, and was appalled at the pressure put on women who choose to carry a child with disabilities to term.
I don't wonder why 90% choose abortion when they are told by the doctors whom they trust, that: their marriage will end, their other children will hate them, and their child with Down syndrome will never tie her own shoes, or learn to read.
This is NONSENSE!
Moms; don't let ANYONE tell you how your family will react, what you can deal with, or how much your child will accomplish (as if we love our children based upon their IQ!)
My daughter is delayed intellectually, and I am gifted. This fact has nothing to do with the satisfaction which she brings my family, or how she has helped us grow beyond loving people for what they are, to loving others for who they are. Christina is the most sensistive and loving person we know, and thanks to loving her, we are heading in that direction.
There are also recent research advances made by Dr William Mobley at Stanford University, which offer promise that the cognition and memory of our children can be vastly improved with drugs. Whether or not this research is successful, people with Down syndrome have attitudes which make this world a better place.
I became a writer precisely to tell the world what a gift our children are to the world, and to help many more of them make it into the world. I will do every thing in my power to help make that adoption registry a success, we need the Kennedy Brownback bill to be able to offer women a true choice when they are expecting a child with designer genes, not railroad them into an abortion.
Counterpoint: go to http://www.worldontheweb.com/2008/03/13/almost-abortion-consensus/#comme...
I want to shed some light about whether a national registry on adoption woudl work. The Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati has a National Adoption Awareness Program that was started in 1982. There are over two hundred families registered to adopt a child with Down syndrome across the country. The Coordinator works with some 2000 families a year providing information and support to both families interested in adopting and parents who may choose to make an adoption plan. Ninety nine percent of families that want to adopt have had a favorable experience with someone with Down syndrome whether they are already parents, siblings, co-workers, neighbors, teachers, etc.
I can tell you of hundreds of families who say that the family member with Down syndrome has been a blessing to them and everyone around them so I'm not surprised that there are over 200 families registered with us.
The goal of our National Adoption Awareness program is that every child born with Down syndrome has the opportunity to grow up in a loving family.
We stronly support the Kennedy-Brownback bill that will help make this goal a reality.
Janet Gora
Executive Director
Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati
Again, D.D. nailed the issue to the door, and we are all left to avert our eyes in shame.....
I too was raised Southern Baptist (central Florida) and put my beliefs into action (with my husband) when we adopted a teenager almost 15 years ago. Reagardless of need, Downs or not, there are many children in our own cities that need loving homes. Thanks for the reminder to us all.
I beg to differ with all of this. My husband and I are young, aged 26 and 28. We have already adopted one child with Down Syndrome and are on the list for another. Reading articles like these remind me exactly why we do what we do. Because most of the people commenting would not. We have a child born to us with DS and we have been so unbelievably blessed. I wish you all would realize abortion is murder whether you like to admit it or not, and that every child deserves a chance to live. God created them, it is not our place to destroy them.
I am the Mother to six children born with Down syndrome, blessed through the miracle of adoption. I admit I would be one of the pro-lifers standing in line to adopt ANY child born with special needs ... I have read posts about children waiting in the US in our own towns ... try adopting one of these children ... in most cases Children & Families are NOT actively searching for a forever home for these children ... rather ... another foster home for them. It is sad that the system that was created to protect the children has become the abuser of the children. I adopted each of my children through private adoptions, in many cases paying fees to agencies and attornies that resembled the fees for the adoption of a "typical" child ... Would I do it again??? IN A HEARTBEAT! So I can honestly say ... My life has been truly blessed having been chosen to be the Mom to some great kids ... Put me at the top of that list!!!
Right. I am pro-choice athiest. I am also an adopted person. I am also the parent of a child with DS. I am also a socialist.
As a socialist, I am frankly disgusted at the lack of respect for genetic difference displayed by this article. It's just a small step from exterminating the sick to exterminating the poor. If a pre-natal test were available for homosexuality, would you so-called socialists back extermination of gay people? Okay - maybe that's going too far - but I think there is definitely a responsibility for the medical profession not to be biased against people with disability - and this is the purpose of this bill. To give people accurate, up-to-date information.
Did you know that hospitals in Britain no longer provide info as to the sex of the fetus because of the greater number of abortions of girls by people from immigrants from patriarchal cultures?
Would this be okay in your view? Let's kill the women?!
You are on the WRONG side on this issue, madam. As were Hitler and Stalin.
The fact is there are 200 paper ready families waiting to adopt newborns with down syndrome in America, there are many more desperately trying to scrape money together to adopt children with down syndrome internationally. Adoption in general is sweeping through the church like wildfire. Saying christians are unconcerned for the orphans is manifestly untrue on the whole.
I have to say that I have
I have to say that I have seen and heard the crowds outside of abortion clinics. Those who are there and have not yet adopted an orphaned child should go home and start their paperwork. Put your actions where your mouth is. Here is a link to get you started
http://reecesrainbow.com/