The Image of American Adoption:
CHANGING HOW ADOPTION IS PERCEIVED
A natural mother's suggestion of how to change the "image"
of American adoption so people get a better picture of the negatives
and the cruelty of separating real family members.
What is it about adoption that people find so beautiful and so
wonderful? I've pondered that question quite often. How does a child
being taken from her natural parents fit into "wonderful"?
And how can I help others to see the true nature of adoption?
I think one reason for an immediate misconception is the word
itself, "adoption".
I remember from studying root words that "ab" means "away
from" and "ad" means "towards". "Ab"
would seem negative and "ad" would seem positive...right?
Well, things are not always what they seem.
With the word "abortion", the negative is pretty obvious
- a child is taken away. But with "adoption", the only
positive is for the people who are taking the child. So, the word
"adoption" doesn't fit for natural parents and the children
they lose. There is nothing positive about this experience for them.
Nothing is being brought towards them, everything is being taken
away.
Perhaps the word "abduction" would paint a better picture.
Or what about creating a new word alltogether? That's it! My new
word for natural parents and the children taken from them is
Abdoption: the cruel act of taking a child from her
natural parents through lies, condemnation, manipulation, and
coercion, and giving that child to strangers to raise as their
own.
Paula Stafford
Natural Mother
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