H
7 f )
LililsLlL-J
LET'S
STOP
GIVING BABIES AWAY! (Continued)
It is not uncommon for a man and wife to learn that their
privately adopted child has a severe handicap. At this point,
there is no turning back. Physical and mental defects some
times do not show up for months after birth; in addition,
highly trained specialists are needed to diagnose defects
in apparently normal infants.
Certainly, a couple may love a baby despite his handicap
and find joy in seeing him improve under their care. Unfor
tunately, however, there are persons who are emotionally
unable to accept a handicapped child. Resentments can
develop if one comes into their home, and the harm that
may come to such an unloved, unwanted child is irreparable.
Agencies take every precaution to minimize these trage
dies. Adoptive parents are told if a child is sick, or if he
has a history of inheritable illness. Of ten, " families accept
the risks, but they are told in advance and allowed to
make a considered decision.
Of course, handicaps may show up in agency-adopted
children, too, but there is this important consideration:
most agencies permit new parents to return children within
a stated period of time, generally a year, if the adoption
does not prove satisfactory.
3. The rink of giving a child to die wrong parents ia
infinitely greater in gray-market transactions.
In an East Coast city, a 32-year-old woman realized that
her marriage to a successful manufacturer was slowly
crumbling. In a desperate attempt to salvage it, she decided
to adopt a baby. A child, she thought, might provide a
common interest and re-establish their relationship.
Her cousin, an attorney, helped her adopt a child through
a private arrangement. Six months later, however, she
found the baby was not having the effect she hoped. Her
marriage was too far gone to be saved by an infant. The
result: she lost interest in the baby, who is now being
reared in her home as an unwanted child.
Agencies, on the other hand, screen applicants carefully.
Couples whose applications are accepted are thoroughly
studied by professional caseworkers over a period of months.
The caseworkers consider the attitudes of the couples and
other members of their families toward adopted children,
their talents, abilities, economic status and the status of
their marriage.
It is important to bear in mind that I am not drawing
comparisons between the professional qualifications of the
doctors, lawyers, and others who help arrange private
adoptions, and the social workers in the licensed agencies.
I am not saying that any individual social worker is more
qualified to handle an adoption than a doctor or a lawyer.
I am saying, though, that no individual, acting independ
ently, can give a natural mother, a baby, and the adoptive
parents the same vital protection that an agency, with its
experience and personnel, can give.
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. Dr. Samuel
Karelitz, chairman of its committee on adoptions, says:
"In brief, adoption is an involved and highly specialized
procedure which requires the knowledge and skill of trained
personnel. It is unlikely that any one individual alone can
successfully conduct adoption practice. Indeed, to be suc
cessful, adoption requires the efforts of a group, the social
service caseworker, the physician, the lawyer, the psycholo
gist, the psychiatrist, occasionally the geneticist, and others."
Certainly, the agencies themselves are neither perfect
nor blameless. There is room for improvement and grounds
for criticism. Some adoption agencies, working far too slowly,
need to streamline their operations. Others are still employ
ing old-fashioned methods that have been outmoded by
newer scientific knowledge. Still others lack the human
approach so necessary in this sensitive area.
All, however, are dedicated to doing the best possible job
to protect human lives and human emotions. They must
not be hamstrung by well-meaning amateurs.
What can be done to eradicate this baby giveaway and
the tragic aftermaths? There is a three-point solution:
First, all would-be intermediaries should realize that
inexperienced persons are not equipped to handle the deli
cate problem of placing children. No untrained individual
would dream of performing an operation for appendicitis.
Entrusting a young baby to a couple to be reared requires
just as much skill and knowledge in its own field.
Second, licensed agencies must be strengthened and their
services extended to persons needing their help. Every
natural parent, every child, and every adoptive parent who
requires guidance and assistance should be able to get it.
This takes money, support, and understanding.
Third, facilities for unwed mothers should be improved
and expanded. Homes, counseling agencies, and financial
assistance should be available to them. No unwed mother
should be forced to give up her child, as so many must,
because she cannot pay medical expenses during her preg
nancy and cannot support herself prior to her baby's birth.
Babies are precious commodities. When they lose their
natural parents for one reason or another, the best possible
replacements must be obtained for them. All of us have a
stake in these unfortunate children. They must not be passed
along like a piece of real estate.
We're dealing with human lives.
Let's stop giving them away!
Mrs. Amelia Molave (left), who gave away her infant in 1 957,
weeps hysterically in Brooklyn Supreme Court during custody
battle over son, whom she now wants foster parents to return.
Now!
Shave your
tender Zone
without
irritation
or your monty back
Spttial Uvt Action latfitr Bfti ft!
Colgate Instant Shave actually
shaves the 'Tender Zone" under
your chin as smoothly as your face.
Amazing live action In t her is
charged with activated moisture
that softens whiskers for the quick
est, closest shave possible . . . with
out irritating nicks or scrapes. Try it!
MOWY-IACK CUAIANTfl. pull refund If
not completely satisfied.
COLGATE
Instant fed
Shave
IIGUIAII
Of MINTHOl
69
hi
El
ff
Live your
golden years
without laxatives
Cirowintc older docsn'l mean you have
to lake laxatives or "hulks" thai work
unnaturally, uncomfortably! Take
new RtGUtoi. It's not n laxative, yet
it restores regularity as no laxative
can. Kir.uiui simply makes ihc mois
ture in your colon keep waste soli
for easy, normal elimination. Ho, pi -
mi-pro vcd...5(jr, -sffSySSs
mn nuini'jtirnunii.
Try Rii.uioi. .10
tablets, only $1.00.
MOMMY!. ..MOMMY!...
MOMMY!
To mothers, that cry means that
there's another cut, scratch, scrape,
or burn. It also means she should
get iodine but she often doesn't,
because iodine bums and stings,
upsets youngsters. Here's good
news. Science has discovered a
new kind of iodine that stops in
fection best yet doesn't burn or
sting. It's polyvinylpyrrolidonc
iodine, found only in ISODINE
ANTISEPTIC. Where other types
of antiseptics may kill only 1, 2, or
3 types of germs, ISODINE kills
all types even virus and fungus.
And up to 40 tlnvs faster. Oct
painless ISODINE ANTISEPTIC.
Money-back guarantee. 0
f lb. t.m.m Cmral Mm 1 liM Cmt
O 191 HHii nurauol Cto., Dmt, M.
romllv Weekly. May 1, I960