Abortion -or- The Failed Adoption System

[ThatRobGuy]

I hear a lot of Christians encourage putting a child up for adoption as viable alternative for getting an abortion. I personally don't agree with this. It might be a good idea if the adoption system wasn't flawed by potential parents who only want white babies.....And yes, I know...there are some good people who will adopt a child of a different color, and that's very admirable...but you are not the majority, so please refrain from posting personal testimonies. The cold hard truth is this...most girls and women facing this hard decision are minorities...and most minority children, after being put in the adoption system, get shuffled from foster home to foster home until the time they're 18, and then kicked out on the streets feeling unwanted, and feeling like they have no place to call home. Meanwhile, couple's are on 3 year waiting lists to pay anywhere from $8,000 and up for a white baby.

So, I guess my question is this...What's the value of protecting a life if the life is going to be a miserable one? It's easy for people with no adversity in their lives to sit back and finger point at people considering abortions....but, putting more homeless children in the government system might not be the most beneficial solution.

 

[Spherical Time]

I think that is only part of the problem. There is another side that leads to abortion, and that is poor education, especially sex education in the poorest neighborhoods.

Because they do not have the ability to make an informed choice, they have to deal with the problem until after they are pregnant.

Both the poor education and poor adoption system lead to higher rates of adoption.

 

[TheMissus]

I disagree with the basis of your argument. There is a fundamental flaw by assuming the majority of abortions are done by minority women that would have babies no one would want to adopt.

According to the CDC, who analyzed data from 1969 to 2000, the majority of abortions were done by white women.

The highest percentages of reported abortions were for women aged <25 years (52%), women who were white (57%), and unmarried women (81%).

Minorities have a higher ratio of abortions, but white women still have a higher percentage. As such, the majority of babies who were aborted would (presumably) have been happily adopted by those couples who wish to adopt a white baby.

 

[D-Lisch]

I think it's difficult to answer that because no parent would willingly put their child up for adoption if they knew that they wouldn't be adopted and that their life would be filled with misery. I understand that adoption, for some, is a much better option morally and spiritually than abortion, and if that's the case, then all they can do is pray that their child will be adopted. As for the racial issues regarding adoption... that's an extremely unfortunate stipulation surrounding the process, and it's one that shows one of the fundamental flaws in American society.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I disagree with the basis of your argument. There is a fundamental flaw by assuming the majority of abortions are done by minority women that would have babies no one would want to adopt.

According to the CDC, who analyzed data from 1969 to 2000, the majority of abortions were done by white women.



Minorities have a higher ratio of abortions, but white women still have a higher percentage. As such, the majority of babies who were aborted would (presumably) have been happily adopted by those couples who wish to adopt a white baby.

http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil 115/Stats_on_abortion.htm

"African-American women are more than 3 times as likely to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.5 times as likely."

Here's a stat from another website...

"An estimated 469,073 children were in foster care at the end of 1994. Of these children, 4% were under age 1; 31% were 1-5; 35% were 6-12; and 30% were 13 or older. Almost 47% were African-American; 32% were White; 14% were Hispanic; almost 1% were Native American/Alaskan Native and Asian/Pacific Islander; and the background of the rest was unknown. Multistate Data Archive"

The adoption system doesn't have fantastic results...

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Also, let me point out another flaw with fundamentalist logic on this issue...They encourage you to put your child in a failed adoption system...Children are piled up in foster care in desperate need of a home...

Yet they're opposed to a gay couple, who could provide a loving home, adopting these children...wow, people can be so self contradicting...

 

[TheMissus]

http://www.mnstate.edu/gracyk/courses/phil 115/Stats_on_abortion.htm

"African-American women are more than 3 times as likely to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2.5 times as likely."

Here's a stat from another website...

"An estimated 469,073 children were in foster care at the end of 1994. Of these children, 4% were under age 1; 31% were 1-5; 35% were 6-12; and 30% were 13 or older. Almost 47% were African-American; 32% were White; 14% were Hispanic; almost 1% were Native American/Alaskan Native and Asian/Pacific Islander; and the background of the rest was unknown. Multistate Data Archive"

The adoption system doesn't have fantastic results...

Yes, I'd already said that minorities had higher ratios of abortions. However, white women have more abortions. It doesn't follow that the majority of abortions are performed because the mothers don't think the child would be adopted, because most aborted babies are white.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Yes, I'd already said that minorities had higher ratios of abortions. However, white women have more abortions. It doesn't follow that the majority of abortions are performed because the mothers don't think the child would be adopted, because most aborted babies are white.

That still doesn't change the fact that most kids given up, regardless of color, sit in foster care until their 18 years old, and never get adopted.

I only mentioned the racial aspects in the OP because it seems that many of the anti-abortion campaigns are targeted at the minority groups...and more african-american children are actually in the foster care system...and are not being adopted. Canada has adopted more african-american chilren from us than our own people have. The stat I posted above says there are 469,073 waiting to be adopted....47% are black, 32% are white. That means race isn't really the major issue with the flaws in the adoption system. There are just too many kids going into it, and not enough people looking to adopt.

 

[ElvisFan42]

That still doesn't change the fact that most kids given up, regardless of color, sit in foster care until their 18 years old, and never get adopted.

I only mentioned the racial aspects in the OP because it seems that many of the anti-abortion campaigns are targeted at the minority groups...and more african-american children are actually in the foster care system...and are not being adopted. Canada has adopted more african-american chilren from us than our own people have. The stat I posted above says there are 469,073 waiting to be adopted....47% are black, 32% are white. That means race isn't really the major issue with the flaws in the adoption system. There are just too many kids going into it, and not enough people looking to adopt.

You're absolutely right, at the same time, babies are adopted non-stop from Central America, South America and China because it's easier and much cheaper. There is a big problem with adoptions in the US and it is not a viable alternative to abortion at this time. Birth control and a good adoption process will go a long way to reducing or eliminating abortion in America, a lot farther than teaching abstinence and fire and brimstone preaching.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

You're absolutely right, at the same time, babies are adopted non-stop from Central America, South America and China because it's easier and much cheaper. There is a big problem with adoptions in the US and it is not a viable alternative to abortion at this time. Birth control and a good adoption process will go a long way to reducing or eliminating abortion in America, a lot farther than teaching abstinence and fire and brimstone preaching.

Not to mention another problem...if a child isn't adopted by the time they are 1 year old, there chances of being adopted decreases by 70% after that point...it's kind of like a now or never situation.

 

[eri]

I don't think it's just the adoption issue either. If I ever decide to have an abortion, it won't be because of the issues surrounding adoption - it will be because I don't want to spend 9 months carrying a child, getting sick, missing out on school and work, and possibly having major complications, as my family is prone to.

 

[Robinsegg]

I agree with others here. I think that better education (yes, sex ed starting at about 7th grade) on how to prevent pregnancy (recommending abstinence until after high school graduation, but including other methods) and an overhaul of the adoption process in this country would be greatly beneficial to lowering abortion rates. Oh, and the reason I want public schools to recommend abstinence until after high school graduation is to allow these women to have an education before they have children (or miss school because of pregnancy).

Rachel

 

[ThatRobGuy]

I don't think it's just the adoption issue either. If I ever decide to have an abortion, it won't be because of the issues surrounding adoption - it will be because I don't want to spend 9 months carrying a child, getting sick, missing out on school and work, and possibly having major complications, as my family is prone to.

And as a person living in the free world, it's your right to do so.

Although I do feel that if you're going to get an abortion....don't wait until month 5 or 6, get it done ASAP. If your not ready for a child now, not much will change in 5 months...but that's just my opinion.

 

[Robinsegg]

And as a person living in the free world, it's your right to do so.

Although I do feel that if you're going to get an abortion....don't wait until month 5 or 6, get it done ASAP. If your not ready for a child now, not much will change in 5 months...but that's just my opinion.

There's also the issue of when a fetus is able to feel pain during the abortion process. This would be along the lines of "animal rights" laws, as the issue of causing pain/death to another being would be involved at a later gestation.

Rachel

 

[ThatRobGuy]

There's also the issue of when a fetus is able to feel pain during the abortion process. This would be along the lines of "animal rights" laws, as the issue of causing pain/death to another being would be involved at a later gestation.

Rachel

You're absolutely right, that's why I suggested getting done as early as possible. Preferably before the central nevous system is fully developed.

 

[ScarletWitch]

i personally don't agree with abortion unless the child was conceived through rape or the mother's and/or child's life would be in danger during the birth. from the exact second that the child was conceived i view it as a life. but then there's the corrupt adoption system and no child should have to go through that. there's a few churches and care centers that allow women to live there with their child until she is able to take care of them but there are far to few of those kind of places around so less then one percent of mothers can helped through that method. if safe sex methods were taught thoroughly in all schools starting 6th grade then there would be less abortion rates yet once the woman is pregent then safe sex doesn't matter. i really can't think of a decent solution to this. the best thing to do would be to legallize same-sex marriage and adoption so that all those hopeful couples can children and everyone can live happily ever after. but it's going to take some time before that happens. back to square one again.

 

[Texas Lynn]

I think it's a false dichotomy. There are good adoption programs; finding them is not so easy for the desperate.

Abortion needs to remain legal whatever our personal views on it.

Unwanted pregnancies can be prevented when girls and women are empowered.

 

[bammertheblue]

And as a person living in the free world, it's your right to do so.

Although I do feel that if you're going to get an abortion....don't wait until month 5 or 6, get it done ASAP. If your not ready for a child now, not much will change in 5 months...but that's just my opinion.

I'm sure you're aware of this, but late-term abortions are really quite rare. Here's some stats:

"At what gestational ages are abortions performed:
52% of all abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the 16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions (16,450/yr.) happen after the 20th week of pregnancy. "

Only 5% of abortions are performed in the 4th month or later, according to this. In general, women who get abortions late in pregnancy do so because of health problems to them or the fetus, or (somewhat more rarely) because they knew they wanted an abortion all along, but needed to get the money/resources to actually get to the clinic. Women don't wait until the 5th month to get an abortion, just for kicks.

 

[jerilulu]

My only opinion is this....That if I am going to live my life, I have to have faith. I can't fret on those unfortunate percentages of children not getting adopted. I read 2 Chronicles 28:3 and reminded myself that abortion is a very sinful and immoral sacrifice. I have to agree with whats been said about the poor education. There would be less sacrificing children if there were less irresponsible people. You could say that adoption is a way of sacrificing your child to have a life, or get out of jail free card or what have you, but with adoption that allows a child to have a chance at life, and that is where having faith that God will provide comes in.

Seek first the Kindom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33

 

[Yusuf Evans]

Also, let me point out another flaw with fundamentalist logic on this issue...They encourage you to put your child in a failed adoption system...Children are piled up in foster care in desperate need of a home...

Yet they're opposed to a gay couple, who could provide a loving home, adopting these children...wow, people can be so self contradicting...

Generalize much? I'm against abortion,but I would support a gay couple adopting a child if it mean the child was brought up in a loving home.