To the editor:

I would like to encourage women to strongly consider placing an unwanted child for adoption vs. obtaining an abortion. I am making the same appeal to the fathers of those babies.

Having worked in adoptions in years past, I know firsthand that there were far more couples wanting to adopt than there were available babies.

Adoption gives life to the child. It gives childless couples a baby that is so much wanted, as well as families with children wanting to adopt. Adoption leaves the opportunity for a future reunion with your child once they reach adulthood thanks in part to the loosening of adoption laws as well as the reach of the internet.

Why risk the possibility of a lifetime of regrets for an abortion, or the possible physical side effects?

Consider what the Bible says about the unborn child. Psalm 139:13,15-16. “You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion. You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your Book.”

Each baby, created by God, has value and worth, and a lifetime of plans designed by God himself.

Think of the 60 plus million babies already aborted over the past 50 plus years. The plans God had for them were never fulfilled: all those talents and gifts meant to benefit mankind and honor God were lost. Those children would have grown and had children and grandchildren of their own. More talents and gifts never realized, from laborers to doctors and everything in between and we wonder why the United States experiences shortages of workers in every field in the country?

Please take a long time in considering the options. Reach out to family, friends and professionals who have personal and professional experience in the matter of unwanted pregnancies. Some resources are obria.org/iowa, pulseforlife.org, Lutheran Family Services of Iowa, Department of Human Services of Iowa, churches and pastors. These resources not only help women/couples make an informed decision re: their unplanned pregnancy, but they also provide all types of assistance to women/couples who desire to keep their children but do not have the means or supportive services to do so.

Women also need to know about the Safe Haven Law. After a woman has given birth, and decides she does not want her child, she may safely drop off the child at designated safe places for up to 90 days after giving birth without being arrested or charged with abandonment. Those places include hospitals, 24 hour fire stations and emergency medical care providers such as calling 911. Within 30 days of releasing her child, if the mother changes her mind, she may appeal to the courts to have physical custody of the child reinstated, pending the court’s decision.

What may seem like a lifetime to carry the unborn child for nine months in the womb pales in comparison to a lifetime of possible regrets or “should haves.”

Janette Anderson

Lehigh