SHOULD state-funded adoption agencies be able, for religious reasons, to turn down prospective parents? An increasing number of states say they should, or are beginning to consider it. South Dakota has had such a law since March; Alabama’s governor signed a version in May; the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has a bill on his desk awaiting signature. Opponents argue that such laws discriminate against couples who are non-Christian, gay or unmarried. These proposed laws also reflect a mismatch in the supply of infants and demand for adoptions.
As the teenage pregnancy rate has fallen and the stigma attached to single motherhood has faded, the number of babies placed for adoption has declined. In 1971, 90,000 children were placed. By 1975 the number had fallen by half, mainly because of the legalisation of abortion in 1973. In 2014, only 18,000 infants under the age of two were placed for adoption.
Meanwhile, adopting from abroad has also become harder. According...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2rG4GxT
EmoticonEmoticon