Many who have participated in adoption on any end of the triad have positive feelings about it. This small sampling of birth mothers, this group of adoptees, and this adoptive parent all say basically the same thing: Adoption is a blessing. Their words resonate with many of us who are touched by adoption in one way or another. So this begs the question: If I know of an unwed pregnant teenager or any unwed pregnant woman, should I suggest adoption?
Well, if you don’t suggest it, will someone else?
Take the case of young Megan. She got pregnant in high school. She and the father of her baby agreed to keep it a secret. And boy did they succeed! In Megan’s newly published book Not My Plan, Sucking it in Until I Had to Push It Out, she talks of going into labor and only then revealing the truth. It wasn’t until delivery and holding her little girl that Megan even thought about adoption. Yet clearly, it was a blessing all-around. (Her book is a MUST READ. Filled with honesty that jumps off the page as comedy, you’ll both laugh and cry when you read it.) If Megan had only had someone to confide in who could have suggested adoption early on, she may have felt that overwhelming peace months earlier.
While it is true that any woman’s decision to parent or place is none of anyone else’s business (except for the birth father, of course), gentle, compassionate and loving suggestions may be what she needs to make the best decision. Too often the only options young pregnant women hear are abortion and parenting. Making a suggestion of adoption as a consideration doesn’t have to come across as pushy, but simply informative. Hearing your perspective may be what helps her come to peace with whichever decision she makes.
So yes. Please share your love adoption and what it means to you when given the opportunity. Who knows how many lives can be positively affected when you’re not afraid to speak out.
