Adoption
Readers may have noticed that every now and then I comment on adoption.
There is a reason for this. My wife Tracey and I are the proud parents of two adopted children, James and Lara.
Going through the adoption process was a revelation. We learned a lot about adoption in NZ (there's very little), the bureaucracy and time involved (there's a lot), the emotional hurdles involved (high) and the rewards (profound).
I wrote an article on the experience for my friend Bernard Moran's "Pro Life Times"-July 2006". It got a very good response.
Pro-Life Times is the journal of the NZ's leading anti-abortion organisation, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC).
For the record, I personally believe in safe, legal abortion. However, going through the adoption process, we learned that while there are 17,000 adoptions in NZ per annum, there are only around 100 adoptions. Meanwhile there are huge numbers of infertile couples wanting to adopt.
A clear imbalance that cries out for some "market" solutions perhaps?
I've decided to serialise the article on this blog. It is very personal and I have resisted posting it for some time.
However, Tracey and I learned a few tricks on our journey. If they can help one more couple to adopt, or if it can help raise awareness of the issues around adoption, Ill consider it worth while.
Its a bit different from my usual fare and is written for a family oriented audience.
However it does raise some political, social and philosophical points that I hope you find interesting.
There is a reason for this. My wife Tracey and I are the proud parents of two adopted children, James and Lara.
Going through the adoption process was a revelation. We learned a lot about adoption in NZ (there's very little), the bureaucracy and time involved (there's a lot), the emotional hurdles involved (high) and the rewards (profound).
I wrote an article on the experience for my friend Bernard Moran's "Pro Life Times"-July 2006". It got a very good response.
Pro-Life Times is the journal of the NZ's leading anti-abortion organisation, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC).
For the record, I personally believe in safe, legal abortion. However, going through the adoption process, we learned that while there are 17,000 adoptions in NZ per annum, there are only around 100 adoptions. Meanwhile there are huge numbers of infertile couples wanting to adopt.
A clear imbalance that cries out for some "market" solutions perhaps?
I've decided to serialise the article on this blog. It is very personal and I have resisted posting it for some time.
However, Tracey and I learned a few tricks on our journey. If they can help one more couple to adopt, or if it can help raise awareness of the issues around adoption, Ill consider it worth while.
Its a bit different from my usual fare and is written for a family oriented audience.
However it does raise some political, social and philosophical points that I hope you find interesting.
posted by Trevor Loudon at
3/07/2007 01:28:00 PM
1 Comments:
I think you meant to write "we learned that while there are 17,000 abortions in NZ per annum, there are only around 100 adoptions"
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