(6/30/2006)

Unplanned Children: Do Pro-Lifers Really Want Them?

The pro-choice question: will pro-lifers adopt children of unplanned pregnancies?

BY BOB ELLIS

DAKOTA VOICE

The mantra of the pro-abortion movement, from before the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision until today, has been “every child a wanted child.” The implication has been that if abortion is available, every child born would be a child specifically wanted by their parents—and therefore loved.

Yet 33 years after Roe made abortion available with few restrictions, some 40 years after oral contraceptives became widely available, and over 50 years of sex education in public schools, large numbers of children are born into homes where they are neglected, mistreated and abused.

The American Medical Association (AMA) says there are 1.7 million reports of child abuse each year, with 140,000 children injured from abuse and 1,500 killed each year from abuse. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on child Maltreatment, the number of abuse cases has risen from 167,000 in 1973 to 1.2 million in 1996. DHHS says the number of children whose parents have had their parental rights terminated each year is estimated at over 100,000, with over half a million children in foster care each year. It would appear abortion has done little to make “every child a wanted child.”

However, there is some good news for the approximately 50,000 children who are adopted each year: there are lots of loving parents lined up and waiting to adopt children of all colors and backgrounds and physical conditions.

According to "On the Path to Adoption” by Christine A. Bachrach, Kathryn A. London and Penelope L. Maza, about 2 million couples are waiting to adopt at any given time.

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse says South Dakota averaged about 400 adoption filings per year between 1988 and 1997.

One group that is helping placed wanted children with loving families is Bethany Christian Services, with offices in Rapid City and Sioux Falls.

Bethany Christian Services was founded in 1944 by Marguerite Bonnema and Mary DeBoe. These Grand Rapids, Michigan ladies who wanted to provide a Christian home for children without a home. It has since grown to more than 75 locations throughout the country and an international ministry in 15 countries.

Renee Eggebraaten is the director of the Rapid City office of Bethany Christian Services, and she has been with the Rapid City office since around the time it opened 17 years ago.

Renee Eggebraaten in her office at Bethany Christian Services

She has a special empathy for adoptive parents who experience infertility, because this was the case with her and her husband. They have two children, adopted as newborns, now aged nine and five.

Eggebraaten said that the typical adoption process is very thorough to ensure children are being placed in good homes. She said a home study family assessment is conducted over a period of 2-4 months, and prospective parents meet with them a minimum of four times, as individuals and as a couple. BCS requires that couples be married at least two years before applying. Background checks are run on adoptive parents, and financial disclosure is required to ensure the child will be placed in a stable home, though low income does not necessarily disqualify applicants. Since BCS is a Christian organization, they require that all applicants be born-again Christians and have a pastoral reference.

BCS also helps prepare prospective parents by providing education and training.

In addition to helping mothers of children to be adopted find good parents her child, BCS helps mothers who want to have their children adopted by paying for any medical costs for the pregnancy that are not covered by existing medical coverage. They also assist biological mothers in obtaining a release of parental rights from the biological father, if that is necessary. In the case of unwed pregnancies, Eggebraaten said biological fathers seldom disagree with the biological mother’s wish to have her child adopted.

According to Eggebraaten, her office provided adoption services for four women who had been raped—an unusually high number for one year, she said. “All of these children were adopted,” Eggebraaten said. “We had no difficulty placing them with loving families, and none of the biological mothers regretted having their children adopted.”

Eggebraaten also said BCS has no difficulty with adoptions in cases of incest, or special needs children who have disabilities or other illnesses. She said there are many prospective parents who seek out special needs children because they have a heart for these little people.

According to “Why Can’t We Love Them Both” by Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Wilke, at the time it was written in 1997, there were over 100 couples on the waiting list to adopt children with Spina Bifida.

Eggebraaten said the typical adoptive couple are middle-class, in their 30’s, have been married several years and come from all walks of life.

South Dakotans such as Bill Nachatilo of Spearfish are ready to step up to the need. Nachatilo, who also works for the South Dakota Family Policy Council, and his wife Marsha have raised four adult children and have adopted five more. They have also foster parented 165 children over the past 12 years. Nachatilo says they just love children.

In addition to adoption placement, BSC also provides post-adoption services, infertility counseling, long-term foster care, abstinence education, and helps runaway children.

BCS receives its funding through donations, an annual fundraising event, and through fees paid by adoptive parents. In 2004, 39,868 hours of service were performed by more than 785 volunteers at BCS organization-wide.

In South Dakota, Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Family Services, and New Horizons also provide adoption services. Eggebraaten said that while the Department of Social Services also does adoptions, these are usually older children who need adoption because of their biological parents’ involvement in the legal system.

Pregnancy services providers in South Dakota include both BCS offices, the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls, CareNet Pregnancy Resource Center in Rapid City, Northern Hills Pregnancy Care Center in Spearfish, and Birthright offices in Aberdeen, Big Stone City, Brookings, Pierre, Rapid City and Yankton.

According to statistics.adoption.com, 15.5% of approximately 50,000 annual adoptions are “public” adoptions from the child welfare system. The rest are accomplished through non-governmental means such as adoption agencies or lawyers.

Costs for adoption can range anywhere from nothing (some public agency adoptions and those funded by donations) to over $30,000. Some of the associated costs of adoption include application fees, home studies, post-placement supervision, physicals, travel, court petitions, attorney fees and sometimes medical expenses for some adoptions occurring at birth.

But there are resources to help with adoption costs such as a federal adoption tax credit, and some states offer tax credits for their residents, as well. Often there are donated funds available to help defray costs in private agency adoptions.

According to Planned Parenthood's own statistics, in 2004 they aborted 255,015 children and referred 1,414 for adoption, or 180 aborted children for every one adoption referral.

However, it appears there is no shortage of loving parents who are willing to spend considerable time and money to go through the process of adoption. These people love children, want to provide good homes for them, and although many have experienced infertility problems, they definitely do not see adoption as a “second best” choice.