LifeNews.com
2012-07-11
7/9/12 — A recent article asked, “Why do more people choose abortion over adoption?” The author, Kristi Brown, commented:
Countless women in the U.S. choose abortion over adoption for their unborn babies every year. When I sat in on counseling sessions at a pregnancy center, I learned that women are often very closed to the idea of adoption. They either want to keep their baby themselves or get rid of the baby now. Adoption statistics are hard to track, since states are not necessarily required to report domestic adoptions. However, the numbers are grim, and much of it is owing to abortion.
If true, such a mindset is troubling. How could we be so hostile to life, particularly given that “there are up to 36 couples waiting for every one baby placed for adoption”?
The data is admittedly sparse, but sufficient. Obtainable statistics indicate that U.S. adoptions generally fall into three categories: a) adoptions from U.S. foster care, involving public welfare agencies (37%); b) private adoptions of U.S. children (38%); and c) private adoptions from international sources (25%). The percentages shown parenthetically represent all 0- to 17-year-old adopted children in the U.S. as of 2007, by source of adoptioni.
Based on these percentages, annual foster care adoption data, and readily available abortion statistics, we can (i) determine if many mothers and fathers really do “feel that killing their children is a better option than choosing families for their children” and, if so, (ii) explore why they might feel that way.