Foundlings

One of my favorite UK Mums, JournalsUK over at A Mum's Tale, has written a great article on child abandonment. This topic and the topic of adoption are near and dear to my heart.

She asks the question "In this present age, when having a baby incurs no shame, no penalty from society (quite the opposite), you wonder why this still happens."

Why indeed. In the USA, there is still a great deal of shame attached to having a child outside of marriage. Particularly when it comes to teen pregnancy. There is also a surprising lack of awareness when it comes to the process of adoption.

 Teens receive an amazing amount of pressure from all sides...parents telling them to abstain and if they get into trouble, telling them to have an abortion...from friends telling them to abort or keep the child. Adoption rarely enters the picture, sadly. The mixed messages, shame and confusion are a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, we wait. We wait for some poor young girl to find herself pregnant and wanting a way out. A girl who choses to let her baby live, but with someone else to raise him/her. We hope that girl chooses not to abort. Chooses not to abandon or toss that child into the trash.

We may be waiting quite a while...