Is adoption front-page material?

It’s celebration time at my local Planned Parenthood organization. On the home page of Planned Parenthood of Indiana is found an article entitled “Celebrating National Adoption Month, Thanking Our Adoption Partners.” Who knew? Planned Parenthood has adoption partners? I was somewhat shocked as I began to read the article.  But as I reached the third paragraph, I began to see the catch:

In recognition of National Adoption Month, we’re proud to announce that since 2006, with the help of our referral partners, the Independent Adoption Center and the Adoption Center for Family Building, PPIN has paved the way for at least 12 successful adoptions.

Yes, you read that right. Planned Parenthood is excited that they have contributed to a whopping twelve adoptions in six years. If we do some simple math, that comes out to an average of two adoptions a year.

Last year alone, Planned Parenthood of Indiana performed 5,250 abortions.

Fifty-two hundred and fifty.

That means that if 2011 was an average adoption year, Planned Parenthood helped with one adoption for every 2,625 abortions they performed. Perhaps they should send their adoption counselors back to job training.

And yet, something about Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s front page set me to thinking. If even Planned Parenthood mentions adoption on its home page, why is adoption not more front and center in the pro-life movement?

Think about it. Adoption is “pro-life” on many levels. For a woman considering abortion, her choosing adoption can literally save the physical life of her child. But for children who are already born and who live in an orphanage or are part of a government’s child welfare system, adoption can save a child’s life in a different way. It can save a life from being unloved, neglected, or even abused. For many children, life may not seem worth living if no one really cares whether you live or die. Adoption brings new life to a child – the life that comes in knowing that you are wanted, loved, and cared for by a family.

There are many pro-life agencies that do invaluable work to help pregnant women see that adoption is a viable alternative to abortion. I applaud these ministries for their work. But as the pro-life movement continues to develop, it is important that we view adoption as more than just an abortion alternative. Adoption is a way of giving life to a child of any age, whether newborn or teenage. Our work is not solely to ensure that children survive the womb; our work is to ensure that all life is valued as a precious gift from God, whether that life is one week from conception, 14 years old, or 80 years old.

It is the pro-life movement, not Planned Parenthood, that should make adoption front-page material. I am convinced that if pro-lifers show their value of life by standing in support of adoption for children of any age, we can do far better than Planned Parenthood of Indiana’s one adoption for every 2,625 abortions. I believe we can make a difference that is actual front-page material.

To truly understand the difference you can make by supporting adoption for children of all ages, please take a moment to watch (and share!) the short video below, created by an amazing young woman whose sister is adopted and who is passionate about adoption. But be warned: it might just change your life.

All I Want for Christmas... Is a Family