Why don't anti-abortionists. fundamentalist Christians adopt the children they don't want aborted.?

Question

I work at Social Services, and currently we have 1,600+ children waiting for adoption (with twice as many more in overcrowded foster homes) -- many of these children borne to mothers who "didn't believe in abortion," or were talked out of it with the soothing words, "you can put your baby up for adoption." While the very large fundamentalist Christian community around here is exceptionally vocal about abortion being a sin and murder, they represent less than 5 percent of the people applying for adoption, and those that are, are not interested in mentally/physically challenged or "racially diverse" children. Gay men and women represent the largest number of people wanting to adopt, and don't care as long as they can care for a child (thank you gay men and women).

So, why don't anti-abortionists -- particularly those who demonstrate the loudest -- put their money where their mouth is?

Depending upon the state, it generally costs less than $2,000 to adopt through SS. In fact, in our community, we pay all the fees.

I repeat. I work for Social Services.

One of my children has been adopted out of SS, the other child and I are in the process.

I never said Christians don't want to adopt. I am a pro-choice Christian who takes her children to church every Sunday. I am talking about those who protest abortion the loudest and strongest, and, around here, those are the fundamentalists.

Answer 1

And then why don't they let gay people adopt? If they let gay people adopt, there will be so many more loving homes open to these children. But, the same people who are against abortion are also against gay people. Sad, really.

And do you really want more children being raised in fanatical fundamentalist homes? They wouldn't be allowed to go to the movies, read the books, or listen to the music that their friends can. They will have their heads willed with rubbish, judgment, and close-minded ideas. And if they decide to change faiths, or turn out to be gay, they'll be subjected to spiritual abuse. If they don't turn out to be fundamentalists themselves, they will be radical atheists, because that is all a fundamentalist home can produce. It really makes me sick that the American Taliban is allowed to adopt children, but gay couples can't. You can see what I'm talking about in some of the responses you got. Christianity needs more rational voices such as yourself, not more fundamentalists.

Answer 2

Sorry you feel this way but slaughtering of babies is not what should be done. If anyone should fall into this category of an unwanted pregnancy than there is help out there.

If you still can't get help and you are sure you don't want a child look me up. I know of a couple that would love to adopt children but don't have the thousands of dollars to do so.

Also there is a home for children in our state that is ran by Mennonites and they keep the children until the mother is up on their feet and can take care of their child. If they decide they don't want the child than they will find a good home for the baby.

Don't you think that we have slaughter enough babies (40 million+/-)?

Even though I am against abortion I totally agree with Gay/Lesbians adopting children. At least they will be loved.

Answer 3

I'm a Christian and I have always held this position. I think that Bush was terribly wrong for stopping all federally funded child care if there was even a whiff of abortion (most of them including Planned Parenthood) -- and that includes international agencies. I'm not sure where you live, but there are many loving homes that take in children (including Christian ones) and perhaps you don't always know where the parents are coming from. But, I'm glad you are doing what you are doing--it's a really tough job, I know!! Had I the resources, I would adopt as well, and not a baby from China but rather an unadoptable.

Another thought: since you are not supposed to ask religion etc. due to discrimination, how do you KNOW only 5% are fundamentalists? I'm not fundamentalist, but if you asked if I'm a Christian, I would say "yes." Is that a question on the application?

Answer 4

But Christians do adopt, and not just infants. There's a HUGE pro-adoption movement within the fundamentalist & evangelical community.

If the mother decided against abortion on the basis that, "You can put your baby up for adoption," but then chose not to let the baby be adopted, how is it the fault of the pro-life community if she later neglects or abuses her child? Or if she "didn't believe in abortion," what then? Were we supposed to know in advance that she would be neglectful, so we could drag her kicking and screaming into a clinic where she would be forcibly aborted?

Answer 5

I don't know what area you live in, but I can speak for the people I know. I know more than 10 families who have adopted children specifically because they are pro-life (and a few others because they weren't able to conceive). One lady I know adopted three crack babies. The third adoption was in the works when her husband died suddenly and she still went through with the adoption to save this child from either abortion or a life of foster care.

As for myself, my husband and I plan to adopt someday. He was adopted himself. We had one child and planned on adopting the others, but I got pregnant twice unexpectedly. Then when we were ready, my husband lost his job (last March) and he just went back to work in October. It'll be a little while before we're financially ready to adopt (we didn't use any welfare or unemployment insurance the whole time he was out of work). You know darn well it's not cheap to adopt, and if a couple is living paycheck to paycheck, they won't be approved for adoption.

So that's why we haven't YET, but we will. I have no qualms about adopting a kid with Downs, a kid whose mother did drugs, a "racially diverse" kids, whatever THAT means -- we have so many different ethnicities represented in our church and school, the white folks are in the minority, so that couldn't possibly scare us.

Personally, I agree that there are some anti-abortion people who DON'T put their money where their mouth is, but there are others like us who want to and have some unexpected challenges that prevent us from doing so for the time being.

As for your assumption that gay people will adopt any child, well, my sister and her partner -- an ethnically diverse couple -- are trying to adopt, but they only want The Perfect Child. They will only adopt a girl who is half white and half African-American, and the white biological parent has to have brown hair so she'll look like them, they are screening for higher IQs (they both have IQs above 140 and they can't stand "stupid people"), and they are VERY concerned that the biological mother has not done drugs because they don't want a "problem" child. So there really are some gay couples who have their own biases andwon't adopt just anyone.

Answer 6

I definitely believe that if you're going to fight for adoption you should be willing to make yourself a part of the process. I'm only a teenager but I can definitely say that while I don't believe in abortion it I do believe that people with the means and the heart should adopt (or even people who might have to fight for the means but still have the heart). Also, if I were to adopt, I would adopt whichever child I felt needed me the most regardless of race or disabilities (which are not an issue since I plan to be a spec. ed teacher)

Answer 7

I am a family psychologist and I can tell you that you are making some very blatantly wrong conclusions. Where are your research reports and statistics for such views? Government social services and their adoption agencies that you are referring to are secularist (biased against a Judeo-Christian ethic). It is why you have more gays than Christians coming to your agency. Many of those children that you are referring to are taken in by church-going families, without going through the slow grinding wheel of your bureaucratic services. It isn't worth all the unnecessary pain and agony that the child and the family in question would have to endure. Believe me! I've seen it. The stories about foster care and adoptions through social services are horrendous! Then there's all the faith-based children's services out there. This appears to be why you are so out of touch with the truth about Christians adopting. In my experience, having worked in both the secular and Christian family service environments, Christians are way more willing to adopt than non-Christians, that's if there is not the income one derives from doing so. Too many times, I've seen children taken in JUST for that reason, alone.

Plus, contrary to the scientifically incorrect, but politically correct view, Christians are morally concerned about placing up for adoption any children in ANY families that are not traditional. Why? Because scientific research indicates that the overwhelming majority of children who have mental health and behavioral problems are from single, divorced, and now gay families! It would be like sending these unfortunate children from the frying pan to the fire! So why give them up to a system that is quite broken and in denial of the truth?

And, btw, I have witnessed Christians going to abortion clinics to offer their home, if not some other traditional connection, as a place for those who otherwise would be aborted. But, because of conveniency, which is enabled and promoted by Planned Parenthood, another agency that is quite broken and in denial, and supported still by taxpayer's money (hopefully not for too much longer), most of those would-be mothers refuse.

So who's neglecting whom?

Answer 8

Adopted

Answer 9

1.. Social Services is not the only source of adoption, as you must know. We adopted two children (an older sibling group, one child multiply handicapped including severe retardation) and we did not go through Social Services. We went through a Christian agency. Social Services had our two for three years, allegedly looking for a home for them. After three years a bright and compassionate social worker got the smart idea of contacting a Christian agency. The agency sent out word to local churches and within a week there were two families (Christian. Pro-life) who wanted to adopt those girls. We got in first.=) Maybe you should try actually asking at places where the Christians are instead of making up stories that are not supportable by the facts.

2. The TRUTH is that Christians are disproportionately represented in both foster care and as adoptive families- i.e. the facts are that Christian pro-lifers adopt and provide foster care in much greater numbers than other groups.

My dad was a supervising social worker in the State of California and he oversaw several group homes. IN CA the state contracted out its group homes to private agencies- and ALL of the parents in the group homes my dad oversaw were Christian and pro-life as well. He knew no atheists who wanted the bother. I am sure they exist, I am just pointing out that your claims about Christian pro-lifers are simply not supported by reality.

In fact, I challenge anybody here who thinks that Christian pro-lifers do not care about the children after they are born to put your claim to the test. ARe you brave and honest enough to do this? Contact your local pro-life groups and pretend to be a pregnant mother trying to decide what to do. See how you are treated, what they offer for you. Go to a pro-life meeting and ask (politely) how many of them have adopted. Have you EVER researched the question? Do you actually KNOW any pro-life Christians on a personal enough level that you would know how many of their children are biological and how many are adopted?

I also flatly do not believe that the reason the OP has 1600 children waiting for foster homes is solely because their mothers were talked out of abortions with the soothing words 'you can put your baby up for adoption.' If that were true, we'd be talking babies, and the facts are:

Only 4% of non-marital births are placed for adoption. In the U.S. this is about 50,000 non-related adoptions a year compared to 1,500,000 babies aborted.

There are about two million couples waiting to adopt- more couples than babies. Furthermore, each of these couples would want two or three, if available. Many will take hard-to-place children with special needs. Bachrach et al., "On the Path to Adoption"

There is a long waiting list for Downs Syndrome babies. There is a national organization of parents of Spina Bifida babies. At this writing, over 100 couples are on the waiting list to adopt such a baby, no matter how severe their problem.

What you probably have, in all actuality, is 1600 hard to place children removed from their homes by social services at ages too old to place in most families, and after they have problems so severe that most families with young children cannot with safety bring those heartbreaking children into their homes.

In my little plain vanilla white midwestern community, there are about 75 black or biracial children. About 70 of them were adopted by Christian pro-lifers in the home-schooling community. This is not all that unusual.

Pro-lifers who demonstrate the loudest actually do put their money where their mouth is. It's a false assumption based on the need to demonize those you disagree with to claim otherwise- and you have no facts to back up that assertion.

Answer 10

I'd love to, but I don't have that kind of money. We are, however, considering looking into it, because we've been trying for a child and it just isn't happening.

And personally, I couldn't care less if the child was "racially diverse" or mentally/physically challenged.

I'm against abortion (except in cases of incest, rape, and the mother's life being at stake), but I'm MORE for personal responsibility. Don't want children? Don't have sex!!!! It really is that simple.