Delaney

Thanks for pointing that out. That's a great idea. If I knew how to relocate Cool Beans', Webmaster and my post to a more suitable location, I would have done so. I apologize for taking up space in Amanda's blog.

Doesn't strike me as particularly amazing...this is, after all, a community of people who have been brought together by their specific belief in open adoption. It's somewhat like visiting a forum for Mac users, or Prius owners, or Welsh Corgi enthusiasts and espousing the potential merits of Linux, Hummers, or Rottweilers. If you're looking to engage folks in a discussion of the relative merits of different approaches, you might find Usenet groups to be, well, less fervent. I think Cool Beans makes a valid point. While Mac users, Prius owners and Welsh Corgi enthusiasts might certainly be expected to fervently promote their preferences within their own forums, surely they can acknowledge the merit of other choices outside of such. After all, hasn't the Linux user, the Hummer owner and the Rottweiler enthusiast all made "their own best choices"? While I wouldn't go so far as to contend that avenues other than fully open adoption are demeaned (at least on this forum), it does seem to be a common assumption that if a birth parent chooses anything other than a fully open adoption, then she/he was either not fully informed of her options by the agency/attorney or was not in the right state of mind at the time, and will eventually come around to seeking and practicing openness, if for nothing else than the best interest of the child. I respectfully submit to you that there are, in fact, women in this world who choose to plan and complete adoptions that are fully closed or somewhat closed; and furthermore, these women may - even years later- still believe that an adoption with limited or no contact was in their own best interest. And let's all remember... a birth parent gives a child life and a loving family to raise him, which is in his best interest. The rest is, in my humble opinion, icing. (uh-oh, I can sense the coming onslaught!)