Evangelical adoptions - a special imperative for believers?
why not domestic foster care and adoption?
A couple of comments:
—not sure the title of the OP matches the point of the article which seemed to be that good intentions sometimes have less than good consequences when acted on. I don’t think that point should be dismissed without considering the argument. There is a lot of material developing along the lines of “when helping actually hurts.” That does not mean we abandon helping, but we should do so wisely.
—here is a very interesting blog post from Conrad Mbewe that addresses the orphan question in the context of the African extended family. It is worth reading for Westerners in order to get a perspective from within the African context. http://www.conradmbewe.com/2010/11/adoption-orphanages-and-african.html
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Moderator (Jim): Made above hyperlink clickable (formerly was text)
DMD
[Andrew K.] Is it an either/or?not either-or. i am aware of the bureaucratic hurdles that make foreign adoption cheaper, faster and more private. but it seems to me like some sort of adoptions might be unhealthy (like celebrity african adoptions). and also the reality that norma mccorvey’s adoptions are a real and positive force against the easy choices made across america. families just quietly doing the hard work of raising a kid without looking for any public recognition. it seems like pro-life groups in america might be able to do some real good by helping reduce the barriers to domestic adoptions.
The comment about international being cheaper than domestic is not the case if you do foster care through the state or county agency. We took in a sibling group of three almost 2 years ago now, and they are all fully adopted and part of our family (all 9 of us!). Admittedly, it isn’t always easy. Our first placement, who we took home from the hospital after her birth, was taken out of our home after three weeks, when we expected her to remain with us permanently. But as it was observed, the needs are no less for domestic adoptions than international.
Greg Linscott
Marshall, MN
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