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A reality star’s adoption announcement is sparking controversy.
Shortly before Christmas, Farrah Abraham told Us Weekly she’s in the process of adopting a child.
Abraham, 24, is an Iowa native whose claim to fame was in 2009 after she was cast in MTV’s reality show, 16 and Pregnant. The show documented her pregnancy and the earliest days of motherhood as a single mom to her daughter Sophia, now 6 years old.
Abraham’s assistant Joy Hollum told Adoption.com the reality star wasn’t available for an interview over the holidays, and she had “no comment” about the adoption process at the time of this publication; however, Abraham told other news sources she grew up around adoption.
“Every neighbor of mine was adopted and they also did foster care,” she told OKMagazine.com in a recent interview.
“I grew up around that. I’m very passionate,” she added.
Abraham’s lifestyle and adoption announcement have opened the door for much attention and criticism, particularly because of her notoriety as a sex symbol and various parenting choices she has made while in the public eye (like her daughter reportedly receiving more than $1,300 after losing a tooth).
But does any of this mean Abraham is unfit to adopt?
As a mother via adoption myself, I don’t think so.
I’ll be honest.
Abraham’s lifestyle is much different than my own. Some of her parenting decisions are certainly not ones I’d make for my own children. And if I could even fit in a variety of the dresses she wears on the red carpet, I still probably wouldn’t wear ‘em.
But who am I to judge whether she’s fit to adopt?
Who am I to say that because she’s different than me, she shouldn’t be allowed to adopt?
I am by no means a perfect parent. I make mistakes. I raise my daughters differently than my friends raise their children. And that’s okay.
Maybe my view is unpopular, but if Abraham has to go through the same processes—the same background checks, loopholes, and red tape that my husband and I did in the adoption process—why shouldn’t she be allowed to grow her family through adoption?
I think instead of scrutinizing her choices and lifestyle under a microscope (most adoption workers will do that for her anyway), we should embrace the possibility that another child may have a family because of her willingness to open her heart and home—even if her family looks a bit different than our own.
