Adoption is something I do not think I have ever written about on this Blog. Perhaps it is because it is a subject that absolutely bothers me to no end. Why? Because I have looked into adopting orphaned children. I have come to one conclusion. Bureaucracies and lawyers simply want to get their fingers on a pot of money they think Americans will give them. It does not matter if I want a child in the States or over seas. The amount of money that it would cost is more than I have paid for my house (and I am still paying for that).
So here we are. Sitting around the lunch table watching the horror in Haiti. My wife agrees with me that if the bureaucratic red tape were cut and if the lawyer legal fees were cut to say a $100 instead of $30,000, then tomorrow, we would apply for at least 3 children.
Instead of governments and lawyers getting out of the way, I must sit here in frustration. I must sit in a land of plenty wondering how did we ever get to this point. The very people who say we must be compassionate are the very same people who will stand in the way of helping.
I don't know what the answer is. I know some would respond by arguing that if there wasn't big government, then there would be other problems. Well, as true as that may be, the cost of a child's life without loving parents is far greater. I simply do not have the tens of thousands of dollars required by big government. So once again, our neighbor is in need, and all we can do is sit here.
2 comments:
Chris and I were talking about this a few weeks ago, well before the crisis in Haiti. We too agreed that the cost of adoption is astronomical and it need not be this way. However, we also agreed that adopting children at great cost to ourselves could be a fairly powerful display of the gospel.
It would be interesting to hear from parents who have adopted at great cost to themselves.
Just thinking "out loud".
I did think of that possible response. It may be a good thing to have that cost for it might weed out the riff raff. But let's face it. It is not really about that. It is cash cow. Lawyers know that people without children and desperately want children, will pay through the nose to get children.
However, here we have a real life problem and there is nothing we may do about it. I can not and will not go into debt for literally tens upon tens of thousands of dollars to be told in the end, "No." That is absurd.
Just as a side note, my wife and I have talked about doing this for years. It is one thing to have to spend a couple of grand to get the legal beagle paperwork out of the way. It is quite another when lawyers are committing extortion and playing with the lives of children.
It is a real shame that children needlessly go through life in abject poverty when so many are wanting to adopt but are simply not able financially.
I don't really want to say this is a political Left verse Right issue. I do know that Prolifers have tried to make adopting a much easier and more viable option for Americans. In some instances, the Political Left has engaged tactics to protect abortion rights, which inevitably makes adopting more difficult. But that really isn't the reason for the difficulty of adopting in this situation. At least I don't think so.
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