by Stephanie Davis

Created on: September 15, 2009   Last Updated: September 16, 2009

Adoption is often sited as the ultimate solution to either a crisis pregnancy or infertility. It can be costly and emotionally draining for both those looking to adopt and those who are thinking about surrendering their baby for adoption. Many pro life activist cite adoption to be the all and end all of a crisis pregnancy. While I am opposed to abortion and would find adoption as the lesser of two evils, adoption is not always the solution either.

Human beings are hard wired to want to bond and protect their own biological offspring. When a woman finds herself in a crisis pregnancy she is often counsled to surrender the baby for adoption. It is seen as the selfless thing to do and to help out that poor infertile couple who can provide a baby a much better life and home than she ever could. While I empathize with a couple who has been struggling with infertility, that does not automatically entitle them a baby. Adoption can be a wonderful experience if one is willing to adopt a child who really needs a good home such as a foster child or an orphan. Yet many potential adoptive parents will wait years and go bankrupt looking for that healthy , preferably white male infant before they would adopt an older child out of foster care.

The adoption industry is corrupt and needs to be reformed. The cost of domestic infant adoptions alone can make ones jaw drop to the ground. Once can peruse the internet and see the dear birth mother ads, and you will see couples trying to sell themselves to a usually pregnant teen or college student to get her baby. In this long and draining process it is the birth mom who is overlooked. Once the papers are signed and the infertile couple has the baby they don't have too allow her to have any contact with the child she has just bore. The concept of open adoption is an oxymoron as so called open adoption agreements are not enforceable. Any woman who has given birth to a child knows that the instinct to bond with your child kicks in It is during this time that she may have second thoughts and is vulnerable to being coerced and guilt tripped into giving the baby up. This is especially the case if the potential adoptive parents paid any expenses related to the pregnancy and they feel she "owes" them a child.

What are the alternatives to adoption, other than abortion?

1. Parenting. While it can be seen as a financial strain on those of modest means it can be done. There are several resources from the government and private charities that

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