So often when I'm arguing ethical adoption, reform and the prevailing issues behind those two things, I hear something alone these lines:

Single parenting is widely accepted today. Mothers are no longer stigmatized by society to place their babies. That's all a myth.

I argue that their belief that this is all a myth is, in fact, a myth. But they never believe me. They say things like, "Look how far we've come!" And I say, "It's not far enough." And they continue to argue that we have made so much progress. That mothers who... more

There was no outright adoption speak in today's installment of Sunday Secrets over at Post Secret. But there were two that really caught my eye with regard to the subjects I write about on this blog.

First off, we have this one.

Pregnant women remind me of my failures.

One should note,... more

If you've read here for any length of time, you know that I promote education to young mothers, believing that most can parent their child. While I don't believe that all teens are ready and/or capable, I believe that there are great teen parents. But, I've got to say, this particular news story caught me off guard.

Seventeen teens are pregnant at a high school in Massachusetts. That's quadruple their normal pregnancy rate. Quadruple. Four times.... more

While searching my news and blog alerts this morning, I came across a blog entry that I will not link because I don't want the potential adoptive mother involved to be flamed. But what she said caught me so off guard that I needed to write about it.

Recently matched with an expectant mother considering placement, the potential adoptive mother described the process as "fun." Fun. My first response was, "What about this is fun for the expectant mother?" While pregnancy itself is an amazing and beautiful time, full of new experiences that could be classified... more

Is it 2008? Because this article just transported me back fifty-or-so years. It also further proves a point that many of today's birth mothers are saying: stigmas against single mothers are still alive and well.

Mothers who have relinquished in the past twenty years are often told that they don't know what it was like "back in the day." And I agree, to a point. While very few young mothers are now shipped off to homes and hidden from the public to relinquish their children in secret and silence, the... more

I told you about the Colorado Representative that referred to young, unmarried pregnant mothers as sluts. I urged those of you who lived in Colorado to go ahead and write letters. I wasn't the only one urging those offended to write. A group of teen mothers from the Florence Crittendon School in Colorado wrote to Larry Liston. And, guess what? He read them.

Not only did he read them. He went to the school... more

Just in case you think it's a bunch of hullabaloo that unwed mothers (and fathers) are made to feel negatively about their situations, take a look at this mess coming out of Colorado. That's right. You read that right. A lawmaker called unmarried, pregnant teenagers (and the fathers) "sluts." Pick your jaw up off the floor.

Representative Larry Liston laid it all on the line with the following comments.

"In my parents' day and age, (unmarried teen parents) were sent... more

I'm stumped. I can't find the right words. How often does that happen for me? Rarely. I've always got something to say. And yet, right now, I'm just at a loss. You see, I got an e-mail from an expectant mother. I'm the first one she has told that she is pregnant. And she wants advice.

I don't know what to say.

Her situation sounds so familiar to my own. And yet she's reaching out ahead of time for the advice that I wasn't privy to while I was pregnant due to circumstances out of my control at the time. I have this possibility to help someone in ways... more

I lived under a rock for most of yesterday. Not really a rock exactly but I was busy with two little boys, laundry, Christmas stuff, a bit of housecleaning and, well, it was our anniversary to boot! So, I was a bit shocked as my Husband and I watched the eleven o'clock news and heard that Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney's famous little sister, is pregnant.

Did I mention that she's sixteen?

I took some time and perused some sites this morning. I'm glad to hear that, after the initial shock, her mother is being supportive. I'm also glad to hear that the... more

There are good people left in the world. I promise. Despite the stories we hear, day in and day out, there really are genuinely good-hearted people alive and well in our country. Need some proof? Okay.

Take this story out of Michigan. To paraphrase: a mother fell into some hard financial times, got pregnant. And had not one baby. Not two babies. But three babies. And not in nine month increments. All at once. Triplets. Goodness gracious!

Can you imagine with me for a moment?

You've... more