The choice between adoption and abortion changes millions of lives every day. Some advocates of abortion feel if the mother of the child thinks that she will not be a good parent or thinks she will harm the child, that she has the right to abort the child. Abortion is a life changing decision and has the reputation of being an easy way out of an unwanted pregnancy. Adoption, on the other hand, is one way for a woman who is not prepared to be a parent to provide her child the best life possible without being involved in the child’s life. According to national estimates, one million children in the United States live with adoptive parents and from 2% to 4% of American families include an adopted child (Stolley). Those who truly care about children and ultimately want the best for them should consider these life-changing decisions and seriously weigh both the positives and the negatives. It is extremely important to ask which choice is best for an unborn child: adoption or abortion. It is important to compare and contrast these options before a life altering decision is made. However, this is not a choice to be taken lightly. One of the most controversial debates involving pregnancy is a woman’s right to terminate an unborn child or place that child for adoption with another family.
Adoption has many legal considerations to be deliberated. There are open adoptions where the child is aware of the situation and has some sort of knowledge and contact with their birth parents. This is in contrast to a private or closed adoption, where the child has absolutely no contact and often no knowledge that they are not living with their birth parents. Every case of adoption must be presented before a judge before placement into a family. This important preemptive step is for the determination of the child’s well-being. There are also many requirements an adult must meet before becoming an adoptive parent. They must be over the age of
Cited: Stolley, Kathy S. "Statistics on Adoption in the United States." The Future of Children (1993): 26-42.