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From
LifeDate - Fall 2005.
“Well, at least I wasn’t adopted.”
by Diane E. Schroeder President, National Lutherans For Life
This column is
dedicated to the birthparents of my children and all the millions
more who sacrificed to give life and love to their children through
adoption.
“Well at least I’m not
adopted.” The hurtful words spoken by a fourth grade classmate of my
oldest son, Michael, rang in my ears. Mrs. Perez, the teacher, had
apologized for the behavior of her class, but didn’t know how to
correct the situation and the negative perception of adoption. So
the next day I outfitted Mrs. Perez with books for kids that talk
about why birth parents place their children for adoption. By the
end of the class, kids were saying to Mike, “How wonderful it is
that you are adopted.” A little education can go a long way.
How typical of our
culture. The “me” generation with magazines such as Self cannot
understand why a woman would think of her child first. You see,
that’s what birth parents do. Recognizing that they cannot care
properly for their child, they love their children so much that they
make a plan to place their baby with a loving adoptive family who
can provide for their baby’s needs. It’s not an easy task being a
birthparent—denying your own needs for the sake of another.
You see, God chose to
bless my husband and me with parenthood through adoption. I could
not be happier with God’s plan. Adoption has been the biggest single
influence on my life. It pushed me to pro-life involvement with
Lutherans For Life. It taught me a great deal about emotional pain
and trusting in God’s providence and provision. Raising adoptive
kids also taught me a great deal about the uniqueness of every
individual and the purpose that God has for each and every person
that He creates. I have the most respect for the birth parents of my
four children. They chose the hard route. They could have terminated
their pregnancies and denied the world the wonderful gifts of their
children. Behind the statistic of 46 million children lost through
abortion are kids like mine.
Michael (23) with his
quick wit and winsome personality; Liz (21) with her unique
abilities and artistic talents (ask me about the time she made a
skirt out of her laundry bag); Paul (20) my sensitive Korean male
who is always thinking of others—whose high school driving record
drove his father crazy; or Rebekah (15) my beautiful Korean daughter
with a heart of gold.
All of my children were
created by God for His unique purposes. God doesn’t make any
mistakes. All people, no matter of their conception circumstances,
handicaps, economic situation, etc., are unique individuals created
by God with distinct purposes for their lives. I’m very grateful
that the birth parents of my children were visionaries that could
see past the difficult circumstances of their pregnancies to the
fine young men and women their children have become.
Of course, of all of
them are abortion survivors and strongly pro-life. To them, abortion
is not an intellectual discussion, it is a visceral attack on their
humanity. The following excerpt is from a letter received by the
student paper at Illinois Wesleyan in response to a discussion on
abortion.
. . . As an abortion
survivor myself (as the child, not the mother), I would like to
address a few things here. When I was three weeks old, I was adopted
by a very loving family of which I am still a part. I do not know
much about my birth mother. She was college aged, 20 or 21, and she
chose to give me up to a family that she knew could care for me and
love me the way she wished to.
Far be it for any person, man or woman, to tell me that I did not
have a RIGHT to live. I love my life, I love my family, and how dare
anyone propose that I should not be here because it would have been
easier for my birth mother to have me torn apart by a “doctor” and
put in a jar. . . .
I am not advocating
any hate or intolerance toward people that have had an abortion,
only healing. Terminating a pregnancy is indeed a very traumatic
experience. What I am advocating is that those who are pro-choice
consider the effects of abortion and what alternatives lay before
anyone that faces such a decision. I do not believe that any person
has a right to decide who should be allowed to live or die.
Please try to think of the countless babies that have not been
allowed a chance at life, and ask yourselves if that is really very
sensitive or tolerant.
Liz Schroeder, Class of
2006
Comments from Liz’s
adoptive mom: YOU GO GIRL! Your birth mom would be proud! |
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