There are generally only three options available for unplanned pregnancies. Keeping the baby, adoption and abortion. As more and more people view abortion as the unnecessary end to a life, they are seeking out alternatives to abortion. Below, you will find information on keeping your baby and on adoption.
Misconceptions
The most popular misconception about abortion alternatives is that there is none. When a woman has an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy, things can seem hopeless. You may think that there is no other option than to get rid of the unborn baby. Often times, however, women who have abortions are often left feeling a lifetime of regret and sorrow for the life they terminated. The only alternatives are to either keep your baby and raise it yourself or put your baby up for adoption; neither of which are going to be easy but it will allow your baby the chance to live a full and happy life.
Another misconception is that women who give up their babies for adoption never see or hear from them again. While in some cases (closed adoption), this is true, there are other types of adoption which provide the birth mother more options of at least knowing about the future well-being of her child.
The Facts
There are three types of adoption: Closed (no contact), semi-open (no contact but you receive updates and pictures of your child), and open (contact allowed with the child but adoptive parents retain all parental rights). If you find yourself in a situation where you know you cannot provide for your baby and/or wish your baby to have a better life than what you can provide, then you should consider one of these types of adoptions.
There are millions of couples who want to adopt an infant or newborn child. Many of these couples cannot have children of their own and wish to give their love and support to a child. How can you know that a couple is going to take good care of your baby?
First, most adoption agencies are diligent when choosing who becomes adoptive parents. Prospective parents are undergo background checks, and are evaluated according to financial status, mental stability tests, and the like. This helps alleviate a birth mother's worries about the care for her baby. Birth mothers also often get to choose for herself the couple that she will give her baby to. She will often get to converse with them, get to know them, discuss their views and beliefs to ensure that they match her own.
Risk Factors
The same risk factor applies when considering adoption over raising the baby yourself. You cannot predict the future. Of course, you want to protect your baby as much as possible but there will be situations in your life and in an adoptive parent's life that is beyond your control.
If you decide to place your child with adoptive parents and later learn that your child is not being cared for properly, contact the original adoptive agency. You can also hire a lawyer to help you.
Benefits
Choosing to raise your baby or find adoptive parents for him or her means that your baby will live and that is the best benefit of all. By allowing your baby the chance at life, you are giving the world a chance to eventually see what he or she has to offer.
Effects
The long-term effects to raising a baby yourself isn't different from any other parent's. There will be difficult times, but there's rarely a parent out there who says that it wasn't worth the struggle. The love you feel for your child lasts a lifetime and that overshadows any difficulty in raising them.
The long-term effects of adoption are often debated. Pro-abortion advocates say that adopted children often feel resentment and that birth mothers often feel a great deal of shame. However, after talking with several mothers who gave their child up for adoption and talking with several adults who were adopted as a child or baby, I've found a general consensus among them. They thank the birth mothers for realizing their plight and for allowing their baby to live a better life. Not a single adoptee stated that they would've rather been aborted. The adoptive parents also stated they felt more complete and felt like their lives had more meaning after they adopted their child.
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