On the day of the release of UNICEF’s report exposing the corruption in Nepal’s adoption industry the WSJ.com published this piece of squishy adoption tripe from their “deputy Taste editor”, Naomi Shaeffer Riley. In it, she encourages John McCain to build bridges with evangelicals on the topic of adoption.
(Incidentally, Riely fails to mention that the McCains have brazenly “exaggerated” the circumstances of their daughter’s adoption, and the fact that this adoption took place while Mrs. McCain had a prescription drug habit that eventually resulted in her stealing drugs from an international charity.)
According to Ms. Riley, Evangelicals are renewing their committment to adoption: Dr. Russell Moore (dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)is writing a book that declares adoption to be a “priority” for Christians. Youth evangelist (an adoptee whose birthmother was “homeless, mentally ill, and a prostitute”) Tony Nolan, speaks at Christian concerts, encourging people to adopt and raising money to help local families with adoption expenses. Focus on the Family ran a public awareness campaign entitled “You are God’s Plan for the Orphan”.
What is curious to me, however, is that while indeed Christians are called to provide for the orphan, they are also to provide for the widow. Support is to be given to the most vulnerable without any strings attached (i.e. you don’t care for the widow and the orphan by taking the orphan away from the widow).
There is also the not-small matter of these coveted children not actually being orphans. As noted by UNICEF, it may be that as many as 80 percent of children in “orphanages” in Nepal aren’t orphans at all. Instead, they are simply “product” in the international adoption industry. The fact that Christians are more-than-bit-players in this evil charade is an indication that something is terribly wrong.
Are there real orphans who need families? Yes, there are. But most of the children in the “system” (whether domestic or international) are not orphans. Some of them were born to families and parents who could not, or would not, care for them. But many of these children were removed from their homes because their parents lacked resources, not love and committment. Still others were taken from their parents and families as the result of fraud.
We must care for the poor, not covet and steal their children.
Drat those Ten Commandments.
Stumble it!
