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Ask Americans to identify the major social issues in our country, and abortion is more than likely to be high on the list. Few, if any, single issues are more socially or politically divisive. To dissect this issue in relationship to the 2012 Presidential election, Anderson Cooper’s production team reached out to us to talk about this area of concern amongst American voters. We wanted to respond to many of our faithful readers and followers to provide them with the full message of what we had communicated during our hour long interview with AC 360 but that had not made the clip accessible online.  Adoption offers a powerful way of reducing the 3,300 abortions that occur in the US each day. Standing in pale comparison is the number of private adoption placements that occur each day are estimated to be a dismal 50. This gap, this disparity should astound anyone regardless of where they fall on the pro-choice/pro-life debate.

This disproportionate ratio appears even more shocking when you consider there are over a million couples who desire to become parents for which infertility treatment has proved to be ineffective.  That number is actually closer to1.12 million...if you do the math this is just about

equal to the number of abortions done annually in the United States. Adoption is simply not part of the conversation when it comes to women

confronted with an unwanted pregnancy.   The Guttmacher Institute purports that 6 in 10 women who terminate a pregnancy cite that the reason they had an abortion was due to having dependents in their care (other children) and not being able to provide their unborn child with a well provided life. Just consider for a moment, if we actually began educating women and couples who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy about adoption, they would be able

to see that adoption is a beautiful way to provide for her child, by choosing competent and caring people to assist in raising her child. If we could communicate effectively, it is my belief that the overwhelming gap between abortions and adoptions would be decreased dramatically.

While adoption will not always be the solution a woman feels is appropriate for her situation, it should nevertheless be on the table of the options available to her.  Lastly, having identified adoption as an area of common ground, pro-lifers and pro-choicers can work together to reduce the number of abortions.  We will always have our differences, but why not work together on a topic that all sides can be for?  

A word from our founderBy Anthea Ramirez, Chief Sharer

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With celebrations for National Adoption month’s “Foster to adopt” and “Forever Family” programs underway, one up and coming country music artist found a way to share the message of adoption through the medium she knows best: music. To Lundyn Rae of Gilbert, Arizona adoption represents an act of heroic love and sacrifice. To Rae the hope of adoption is summed up in her song “A Better Plan.”“My song is about how much love there truly is in the act of placing a child for adoption. I’m not about condemning or judging those that have had an abortion, or those that have chosen to parent. It’s about creating the awareness of the positives of adoption for those currently still making the decision. Helping them to make an educated decision what is right for their life and their baby.”Rae happened to pick up an old magazine that surfaced in a recent move and started reading an article on

adoption and the healing that had come into all the lives of those involved, including the birthmother, through the adoption process. “I wondered why isn’t this perspective more advocated in the media? and the lyrics of a song just started pouring into

my mind, that out of the struggle there was indeed a better plan, not only for the baby, but for the young woman.”While some may view placing a child for adoption as “abandoning” that child. Lundyn offers another perspective, echoing the words of Curtis J Young of the Family Resource Council, that adoption is not abandoning your responsibility. It’s taking more responsibility. It is truly taking care of your own, because you’re saying, ‘I can’t give this child what he or she needs, but someone else can.’ Adoption is not a breaking of trust but a keeping of faith, not an abdication of responsibility but an act of redemption, not the abandonment of a baby but an abandonment of self for a baby’s sake. 

Increasing Awareness for the Option of Adoption Through Music

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Community in Action: How people with a shared vision are promoting adoption

Walk for Adoption Chicago began in November of 2010 with the purpose of celebrating National Adoption Awareness Month.  The Walk was designed to share with the community the beautiful option that adoption can be for someone facing an unplanned pregnancy. 

The Walk for Adoption Chicago mission is to:

• Promote both a positive view of adoption and positive adoption language. 

• Walk annually in celebration and support of birth families and their loving decisions to place their child with another family.

• Give children that have been adopted the opportunity to associate with children that may have similar life situations.

• Assist families in building a strong network of people that can share foster care/adoption resources and help others through the adoption/foster care process.

• Offer participants a wide array of adoption resources and educational materials from a variety of sources.

• Offer ideas for adoption advocacy practices within personal communities.

• Share personal stories of hope, patience, and comfort with those who are WALKING A SIMILAR PATH.

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“I know each case is different, each person has to make the choice that is right for her and be open and courageous enough to follow her heart.  My hope is through the song and generating press about it when young women of any age find themselves alone and pregnant there are not just 2 choices in their minds, keep the baby or abort, but they consider adoption,  at the very least, get educated on the option of adoption before they decide what's right. I hope that by

listening to my song people will truly come to understand that Adoption really is about love. “Like her song A Better Plan says, ‘Sometimes love comes at a cost we don’t understand, and you have to trust someway, somehow, it’s part of a better plan.’Visit www.lundynrae.com and enter the code ADOPTION1 for a free download of the song A Better Plan. To view the music video for A Better Plan, click HERE.

Increasing Awareness for the Option of Adoption Through Music, continued...

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012 Our Founder and Adoption-Share Featured on CNN!

We have an incomplete conversation regarding how we talk about options for women confronted with an unwanted pregnancy. Adoption is often left out, yet it represents common ground that we can all rally behind. To check out our feature on CNN, click HERE and join the conversation on how we can increase adoption awareness!

Recap of our August Chat with:Resources4Adoption Founder Cherri Walrod

Resources4adoption.com’s mission is to provide the very latest in Adoption Financing Education, Information and Resources. Founded by adoptive parent Cherri Walrod in 2009, Resources4Adoption is a compilation of nearly a decades worth of research into adoption grants and loans. From her own experience derived from an 8 year adoption journey during which she and her husband completed three international adoptions, Cherri discovered the complete lack of organized resources and accuracy of information listed.

In our hour long chat hosted on our Facebook page, Cherri answered tons of questions from, how to apply for adoption grants and loans, to determining a good interest rate for an adoption loan, to taking a more in depth look into adoption loans and exploring topics like what is required for collateral? To see a transcript from our chat click here.

Since hosting Cherri in August as our guest, Resources4Adoption has made some exciting new changes to their services. We encourage you to take a peek! www.resources4adoption.com

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Check out the Adoption-Share video!For testimonies of how Adoption-Share is helping pregnancy centers,

adoptive families, agencies and birthparents, click HERE!

Have you adopted or are you about to adopt?You have to check out this incredible organization: Red Thread Sessions. Founded by adoptive moms who have a talent for photography, Red Thread Sessions was founded to capture the beauty of adoption. Red Thread Sessions works with photographers from all over the country who willingly donate their

time to provide complimentary sessions to capture your special family moments, even your coming home memories!

Check out a recent photo shoot from a Red Thread Sessions photographer Tara Peddicord in Maryland. http://www.tarapeddicord.com/2012/10/01/megan-seth-family-portraits-red-thread-session/

For more information or to schedule your special moment, go to http://www.redthreadsessions.com

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ADOPTION-SHAREWWW.ADOPTION-SHARE.COM

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Adoption-Share.com is an online networking platform and support group. Adoption-Share is not like most adoption websites and it is the ONLY online community exclusively for networking crisis pregnancy centers, licensed agencies, home study approved adoptive parents and birth parents. Let our online family enhance your knowledge, expand your network and help you achieve your adoption goals efficiently and effectively. Visit us online HERE.