As Americans prepare for the announcement of the Supreme Court ruling that may overturn Roe v. Wade, one adoption advocate says that more support is needed for moms who choose life for their babies.
In a recent news segment, KSAT spoke with Elizabeth Jurenovich, executive director of Abrazo Adoption Associates in Texas. The station noted that statewide adoptions in Texas are on a downward trend — in 2019, 6,107 children were adopted, while in 2021 that number was just 4,627. Jurenovich says she believes more needs to be done to support adoption, adding that lawmakers need to offer a lucrative alternative for abortion-minded women.
“In order for more parents to choose adoption, there has to be more social support. There has to be services. There has to be, you know — an adoption tax credit that offsets the costs of parents that adopt. There’s no adoption tax credit for women in place,” she said. “Most of the mothers that we work with who are making adoption plans already have other children that they’re parenting,” she added.
READ: Love Them Both: How to help a friend who is placing her child with an adoptive family
Jurenovich noted that an adoption-minded mother still faces a social stigma that is hard to break. “If you place a baby for adoption, you’re still subject to a lot of social disapproval,” she said. She believes there needs to be a cultural shift in the way that people view women who place their babies for adoption.
“I’d love to see lawmakers making more of an effort to uphold and honor the women that do choose life and do choose adoption instead of abortion.”
Jurenovich also voiced her concern that there could be an increase in agencies looking to exploit women. “I don’t see that there is a lot of regard among lawmakers for protecting vulnerable mothers,” she said. “We are seeing an influx of more and more out-of-state actors that are not licensed to do adoption, who are anticipating that there’s going to be a floodgate opening in Texas.”
The separation of mother and child in an adoption can be difficult and painful, but so can the trauma that occurs when a mother kills her preborn child in the womb. Countless adoptees have spoken about how grateful they are that they were given the gift of life.
As many states are poised to outlaw abortion should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, it’s time to start looking at how to better help women, children, and families. Giving women other choices beyond just abortion is the first place to start.
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