At Abrazo, there’s no just such thing as an unwanted baby. No child is ever unwanted.
In the twenty-five years since Abrazo opened, we’ve found there are some cases that are more in demand than others. “Healthy newborns” always have plenty of prospective adopters waiting for them, while toddlers, medically-fragile children and older kids take longer to place. (Nationwide, there are more than 50 families waiting on every one healthy newborn placed these days, according to some experts.)
Baby girls are more often requested than baby boys, among adopters who do express a gender preference. At agencies lacking a Spanish word (like “Abrazo) in their company name, Anglo-Caucasian children tend to have plenty of willing adopters waiting for them, while children of other races may not. (At Abrazo, though, we have families for babies of all races.)
And Abrazo has never come across any child we couldn’t find a home for, in all the time since we first opened our doors in January of 1994.
No Unwanted Baby.
At Abrazo, we have loving adoptive couples waiting for all kinds of children. We find homes for babies and toddlers and sibling groups. We have parents awaiting children of all racial backgrounds. Only one of our waiting families has a restricted gender preference, at present; every other couple is open to a boy or a girl (or both.)
We work with our adopting families to prepare them for a variety of medical and lifestyle factors. Because of this, Abrazo has loving adoptive homes waiting for drug-exposed babies, for preemies, and for any number of different birth defects. We place babies born with congenital syphilis (an epidemic in South Texas, lately.) We have placed children with Down Syndrome, with heart defects, with brain disorders, and a host of other diagnoses, as well.
Since we opened in 1994, we’ve also placed several babies with HIV. Granted, there are not a lot of families who begin the adoption process seeking a child with a possibly-terminal diagnosis. Yet, they can be found. We know, because Abrazo has done it successfully, and we’re grateful to report that all of our “possibly-terminal newborns” are still thriving today.
The Fourth of July Baby
One of those babies was a Fourth of July baby born years ago. The birthmother (some details have been changed for privacy) was a prostitute, who struggled with addiction. When she called from the hospital, she already knew her baby had tested positive for HIV, because she was HIV+ as well.
“I want him to have a good family,” she pleaded. “I know people might be scared because of AIDS. But he deserves to be loved. He needs to have the loving home I never did.”
We told her the truth: there’s no such thing as an unwanted baby. And just because Abrazo had no families at that time who were seeking to adopt a baby who was born testing positive for HIV, it didn’t mean we could not find one for her child. Abrazo is the sort of adoption agency that will gladly search the ends of the earth to ensure that no child is left without a loving family. Some cases just take more time and effort to put together than others.
No Child is Ever Unwanted
Abrazo never leaves any child without a permanent home. That July, we called in favors from adoption agencies we knew all across America. And in record time, we found a loving couple who was ready and willing to take placement of a special needs child who was both HIV+ and drug-exposed. They understood that this baby came with no guarantees. They felt prepared to care for his every need, whether their time with him was long or short.
Today, that child is thriving in their care. Their biggest disappointment is that contact with his birthmom was lost, due to her disappearance from their lives. Still, they think of her often and hope for their child’s sake that she will be back in their lives, one day.
If you know a parent whose child is in need of a great adoptive home, please tell them they can call Abrazo day or night: 1-800-454-5683, or visit abrazo.org/pregnant-placing/making-your-adoption-plan.
Whatever any child may need, however daunting the diagnosis, at Abrazo there’s simply no such thing as an unwanted baby.
