Adoption: More Than Just an Option

by Diane McKelva

November is designated as National Adoption Awareness Month, however, it seems to be less recognized or celebrated than other social awareness campaigns. When many people hear the word “adoption” they more closely associate the reference with shelter animals than children.

During the month of November, we don’t wear colored ribbons. We don’t plead for donations. We don’t see clever public service announcements on television or billboards. Regretfully, despite the efforts to raise public awareness by pro-life groups, adoption organizations and dedicated adoption advocates, such as the late Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s Restaurants, a significant number of Americans remain misinformed about adoption. Meanwhile, we have more than 463,000 children living in foster care in the United States with over 100,000 of those children  waiting for forever families to adopt them. They long for families that will love them forever unconditionally. Meanwhile, throughout the world, Americans have adopted over 300,000 children from countries such as China, Ethiopia, Russia, South Korea, and Guatemala, who otherwise languish in overcrowded orphanages, or an overworked foster care system, while couples from foreign countries choose America to adopt children into their families.

Sadly, in the United States each year more than 20,000 children age out of the foster care without being adopted and knowing a forever family. A significant number of these teenagers have no other recourse than to become homeless and live on the street.

Although adoption is often chosen in building an already established family, many couples enter the adoption world after experiencing “infertility hell.” That’s the term many couples use. It is a form of hell, because you burn with the desire to embrace a child of your own, and yet that miracle eludes you while appearing to come so easily for others. It’s a natural biological function that you  are denied. You question yourself. You question your health. You question your spouse, and yes, you even question God.

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