"Operation Babylift"

After Vietnam, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people fled the country--fearing for their lives. Humanitarian groups urged President Ford to help evacuate the orhpans living in Vietnam--Operation Babylift. $2 million dollars for 30 flights to evacuate 1,300 children. The first flight actually killed 154 out of 330 passengers, which included adults.

Controversy:
Because the airlift was so disorganized, many of the "orphans" rescued still had parents. There was not much documentation on the children, so adoptions were often sketchy. In later years, Vietnamese parents immigrated to the U.S. and fought for custody of their children-which is completely reasonable.

Today, many birth parents and adoptees are searching for their roots. Some children were only babies when evacuated, and since no paperwork on the children were saved, tracing parents and children has become a difficult process.

Same Sex Adoption

This topic is very controversial. I think it's ridiculous to ban same sex adoption! And at this point only four states allow it- Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California. States that have outlawed this type of adoption claim that children can't grow up normally unless they have a mom and a dad. Florida banned gay adoption based on a claim that "gays and lesbians are child molesters". This law was passed in 1977 and has been fought many times since; however, it remains the same. How can the government generalize like that?? Heterosexuals can be child molesters too, but that is why a person can't adopt a child without being "investigated". Why shouldn't a loving couple be allowed to adopt a child in dire need of a home? It is really not fair to kids living in and out of foster homes. Children will love their parents if they receive the love that many homosexual couples are wanting to give away. You don't neccessarily have to agree with homosexual marriages, but just like embryo adoption, this is a great way to find homes for children. In the end, it really should just be about saving children-put aside your predjudices and think about the kids!
I think that God would rather have children growing up with loving parents and families than have children growing up in homes infested with drug and alcohol problems, or foster homes.

Embryo Adoption

KELOLAND.com | Adopting An Embryo

Apparently people can actually adopt embryos! Couples using IVF have the women's eggs harvested, producing multiple embryos. If the treatment works,they often times have leftover embryos. These can either be destroyed, donated to stem cell research, be kept frozen, or be put up for adoption. I personally don't agree with IVF, because of the first two options. The embryo is alive and shouldn't be killed just because your other child worked first..
However, with this new option, IVF doesn't seem so bad. I mean, it sorta freaks me out, but I don't see the harm in it.
Once adopted, the embryo is placed into the adopting mother, so the mother can actually.. grow.. the baby and give birth to their child. This process isn't much different from IVF, only, the adopting mother only gets one chance to hold on to the baby, unless she adopts another embryo. However, it is a much cheaper option for couples face infertility problems.
Embyos are human lives. Therefore, I don't see anything wrong with adopting an embryo. IVF treatments may not be considered moral to the Catholic Church, but there is probably no way in preventing it from happening. This seems to be a perfect solution to the problem. Now all we must do is fight so that embryos can no longer be destroyed.
I feel like couples who want children badly enough to go through IVF would respect life. They spend so much money on having their child, why would they kill their other children?? And by giving up the embryos for adoption, they are helping another couple in the same circumstance as they were once in.

Also, with more research, maybe this can become an option for women considering abortion.

Ronald Reagan on adoption and abortion

I love this video! President Reagan made a really good point. There are so many loving adults who want children, and will love children. No child should have to go unloved..
The first high school student had a legitimate question, but Reagan had a more legitimate answer. I don't think it is right for a woman who gets pregnant, and finds it inconvenient, to kill the baby. It's a baby!! The next girl who talked to the president.. "I'm glad no one killed me". Hearing that from an actual teenager is more real to me than hearing it from an adult who's only goal is to preach pro-life. That is the reality.. People who have abortions are killing human beings who will one day be grown-just like the student. Abortion is the most selfish action a person can make.

Russian Adoption Gone Wrong Mom Sends Adopted Son Back to Russia

I saw this story and decided to write my blog on adoption. It is such an interesting concept and can be viewed so differently by people. In this case, I think the question-What IS adoption?- is the major controversey. Adoption could be seen as the real deal; this is your child, love it, because there are no "returns" in parenthood. People who adopt go through a lenthy process in finding a child, which takes major commitment. And some might argue that a woman who gives birth to a child can legally give up her rights to an adoption agency. However, pregnancies can be (and often are) accidents. The baby in this case is not always wanted. In an adoption, parents are fully aware of what is happening and therefore, should not be able to put their child up for "re-adoption". Children in agencies are probably emotionalyl unstable. It isn't fair to handle them like purchases. It wasn't right for this woman to send a seven year old back to Russia alone. She was fully aware (despite her claims) of what she was getting into. Just because it went a little differently doesn't mean the boy isn't deserving of her love.