Well, it's a task in and of itself to follow a very moving post, let alone one by Tori :) But in all seriousness, congrats to Tori on facing and speaking about an issue few of us in the Advocacy world for orphans want to face. It's hard to see and trust God will take care of them, but the courage to know that and write about it is something worth noting.
I met a little boy in a similar situation when I was in Ukraine. This little boy would never be adoptable because his parents hadn't (or wouldn't) give up their rights to him. So he sits in his little crib, a ward of the state waiting for his mommy or daddy to come pick him up. And the sad thing is, its not even that he has a disability that would "degrade" him in the eyes of his Society. Its just that Mom is somewhere where she can't take care of him and Dad won't.
But we have to trust, because trusting God will provide is what will inevitably change the world. But Mrs. Nalle's latest post, "Abandoned and Aborted", brought another problem to mind.
The Problem? It happens in America, under a different name, in a different place.
I have learned/know plenty of statistics for different things in the orphan world. 147,000,000 orphans. Estimated. Only about 5% are adopted. But there's One that's even more saddening.
In America, 95% of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome before birth are aborted.
Yeah, like life ended in womb ABORTED.
Sanctity of life is a touchy issue. No situation fits the mold perfectly. There's always that extra circumstance, that curveball, that one bit that makes it seem "appropriate" to abort the child.
But the fact is, life is life, in any form.
When people learn, read, or watch a movie about the Holocaust, it inevitably evokes tears, whether its during the movie/book/lecture, 5 minutes afterwards or 5 years later. How could Hitler, who had promised "bright new beginnings" to Germany, kill off what was easily half of the population, because of someone's religious identity? Or their looks?
The fact is, we're doing the same thing in America, in a different way, 8.6 TIMES worse. Yeah, that's right, we've repeated the Holocaust 8.6 TIMES over to date.
And counting.
Now, Thank God, I have never had to be in such a situation of unplanned pregnancy, in my own life or in those of my friends. And to some my saying all of this will seem naive because I've never felt that fear. The fear that encompasses you after you realize you've made a big "mistake" that has resulted in human life, compounded by a "debilitating" special need (or needs). Special Needs can seem daunting. I was afraid when we first decided to adopt Julia that we were going to be going to endless doctor's appointments for a child who was so fragile we wouldn't be able to play with her or do anything. But the fact is, we're not in the stone age. There are so many resources to help with Special needs, no matter how big or how small. And ADOPTION is always there. And if a mother and/or father wants it, they can even request an open adoption where the Parents meet the family their child is going to.
So are we any better? In stead of letting the baby be born and then abandoning them, we abandon them in the WOMB! Before they even meet us, see the world, breath fresh air, we disown them.
Think about a person with Special Needs who has changed YOU. I've had the pleasure of knowing two. I obviously have Julia now, but before Julia, there was a little boy I used to play with every friday morning named Connor. He was 8 and he couldn't talk. For many people, they looked at him and didn't think he could accomplish things. But for those of us who know him, he has reached above and beyond, and just does a great job living life happily.
And the big question is, where would we be, where would I be, without these little gems? We need them, and they need us.
P.S.- check out all of the changes to the pages- many have been afoot!
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