Misleading ads no remedy for abortion ban

There is little evidence that adoption is the answer for women with unplanned pregnancies, now that Texas has banned abortion.

Yet, an aggressive statewide adoption marketing campaign targeting low-income, single Black and Hispanic girls and women would have you believe otherwise.

The Chronicle recently reported the state is spending $4 million for billboards and digital ads targeting ages 12 to 34 with the message that adoption helps “empower” women and allows them to be “in control” of their future. Adoption experts have described the campaign as highly misleading.

The ads reflect a common anti-abortion argument claiming girls and women can give their babies a chance at a better life through adoption.

In this case, the campaign touts open adoption, an arrangement that allows for communication between the birth parents and adoptive parents. It fails to mention that most open-adoption agreements are not legally enforceable in Texas.

I learned during the adoption of my children that adoptive parents can promise to keep the lines of communication open, but nothing requires them to do so.

“There is no evidence that women feel comfortable or want to give up children once they have been forced to have them,” said Laura Portuondo, assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center with expertise on reproductive rights and justice. “That’s in part because giving up a child can be very traumatic. If you are thinking about this from a pro-life perspective and you can’t tolerate abortion but want to do the best for women, this kind of solution is not what you would propose.”

According to the groundbreaking Turnaway Study by University of California San Francisco scientists, only a small minority of women who were denied abortions considered adoption. Researchers spent 10 years investigating the effects of receiving versus being denied an abortion on women’s lives. Of the participants who

gave birth, 91% chose parenting, the study revealed. The study, which started in 2007, included 1,000 women from more than 20 states. Some had received abortions, others were denied.

“Political promotion of adoption as an alternative to abortion is likely not grounded in the reality of women’s decision making,” the study states.

If Texas wants to support women with unplanned pregnancies, it will take more than parenting classes and free food. The state leads the nation in uninsured residents, with high health care and child care costs. So expanding Medicaid, allowing free access to child care and pre-kindergarten, and providing other social services are crucial to helping struggling parents.

“So many young girls who end up pregnant end up homeless. So how could you possibly raise a child or feel like you had a choice if you are in that circumstance?” Portuondo said.

Although there are ample children in foster care available for adoption, they are often older and less desirable for families wanting infants.

The majority of private adoptions in the U.S. are white families seeking infants, with the average cost of adopting a child varying from $20,000 to about $45,000, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This can cover legal fees, travel and lodging, and medical and living expenses for the birth parent. Prices also vary depending on the race of the infant.

Targeting vulnerable women of color is a clear indication that the powers behind this state-backed campaign know the impact of Texas’ cruel antiabortion legislation, which makes no exemptions for victims of rape or incest. They would rather remove babies and give them to mostly white affluent families, while convincing the women that it’s their choice.

Only in a fantasy world with draconian laws are women stripped of their reproductive rights, then sold a bill of goods to convince them they have ultimate power.

Wait, that’s the world we are in today.