What will the ‘adoption option’ look like after Roe?
During oral arguments last Dec. 1 for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the Mississippi abortion case currently before the Supreme Court, a question from Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett sparked outrage. An adoptive mother herself, Justice Barrett wondered aloud whether abortion is needed in a world where adoption is available, specifically in a no-questions-asked scenario that so-called “Safe Haven” laws anonymously allow for: dropping off a newborn at a hospital or other emergency response locations.
Her questioning — which was the subject of some vicious attacks in the ensuing media coverage — made me think of a few experiences I’ve had in the last few months.
One of them was getting to know BraveLove, a Dallas-based group that specializes in celebrating birth mothers. They have educational videos, and the core of their ministry is throwing parties for birth mothers to say thank you. Before he got to meet his own birth mother, Dennis Gerber hosted one of these parties in New Jersey to say thank you on behalf of the adopted children who wound up in loving families who don’t know whom to thank for the gift of their lives.