The more adoptions, the better

By Akilah Bolden-Monifa

McClatchy-Tribune

November is National Adoption Month, a good occasion for dispelling the myths and eliminating the stigmas that still surround adoption.

The late Steve Jobs was the product of an open adoption. He was taunted by other children, and he was tormented by the notion that he was unwanted and that his birth parents gave him away.

There are estimated to be more than 400,000 children in the foster care system, and more than 100,000 of them are eligible for adoption.

They all deserve to land in an adoptive family as Jobs did, where his parents instilled in him the notion that he was wanted, and that they specifically chose him for their forever family.

Unfortunately, some states do not allow for same-sex parents to adopt. Fortunately, as a lesbian parent who formed her family through adoption, I live in California and adopted through New York, both of which allow same-sex parents to simultaneously adopt.

National effort

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has introduced legislation that would allow same-sex parents to adopt children in all states. The bill, called “Every Child Deserves A Home Act,” would increase the pool of prospective adoptive parents, thus making thousands of homes available for foster and adoptive kids.

Children fare better in homes versus in the foster care system. It would be fitting to honor National Adoption Month by reducing the number of kids in the foster care system and by creating more families.

Let’s hope that when we mark National Adoption Month next year, we can also celebrate the passage of the “Every Child Deserves a Home Act.”

Akilah Bolden-Monifa is a writer for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.