Choose
adoption if you're pro-choice
Lesley
Nickus
Many
people live their lives never knowing, let
alone caring, about the circumstances by
which they came in to this world. For some,
it was the longtime dream of their parents
to start a family that moved them to conceive
a child. For others, the circumstances weren't
as ideal. Whatever the case, though, more
often than not, children grow up knowing
that their parents love and care for them
unconditionally. Unconditional is a word
we don't here too often in this day and
age, but that is what the love of a parent
is: unconditional. Every parent, natural
or adoptive has the capacity to love his
or her child unconditionally.
According
to statistics found in surveys by the National
Adoption Information Clearinghouse, the
average cost of adopting a child can run
well over the yearly income of many families.
The high end of the application alone can
be anywhere from $100 to $500, not including
the attorney fees, preparation fees, delivery
fees and the regular cost of raising a child.
Logically,
what person in their right mind would want
to pay that much just to have a child? Well,
there are many people out there who are
willing to pay that and more to be able
to conceive a child. For those who are unable,
however, adoption is another option, and
sometimes, the only option. So why, after
putting all that effort and money into having
a child, could a child grow up feeling unwanted
just because they are adopted? If the parents
didn't care, wouldn't they just give up?
Too
many people look at adoption as a negative
thing. It's not. When a young woman gets
pregnant and knows that she will not be
able to care for her child, she has three
options: have the baby and struggle to raise
it, have an abortion or give the baby up
for adoption. It is a common misconception
that when a mother chooses to give her child
up for adoption she is being selfish and
"giving her baby away because she doesn't
want it" or sending it to a horrible
fate. Well, consider this: a 16-year old
girl gets pregnant. With what resources
will she be able to care for her child?
Not many, unless she's lucky enough to have
parents and a boyfriend that will support
her and her child for the rest of their
lives. To keep the child, knowing that it
will struggle its whole life, is selfish.
To never give the child a chance to experience
it's own life by aborting it is selfish.
But giving it up for adoption is giving
the child a chance to have a life the mother
and father could never provide. They are
allowing the child, that they willingly
created, a chance to live a life and make
a difference.
In
2000, more than 2 million women were looking
to adopt children, 857,000 babies were aborted
and 500,000 children were adopted through
foster care. If you do the math, it's simple;
had the circumstances been different, 857,000
more couples would be parents and 643,000
would still be looking to adopt. The demand
is clearly there. These children are wanted
and desperately needed by hundreds of thousands
of people in the nation. So, if you are
ever in a situation where this kind of decision
must be made, remember that you put yourself
in that position by taking off your clothes,
and consider all the possible outcomes for
your actions regarding what to do about
it.
Lesley
Nickus is a journalism major at Cal State
Long Beach.
|
