In 2018, Alabama families set a record in adopting children from the foster care system.
“There were 710 foster children adopted during the year that ended Sept. 30, up from 509 in fiscal year 2017 and 502 in 2016. The previous record was 676 foster children adopted in fiscal year 2009, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which oversees the foster care system,” AL.com reported last November.
Last week, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the strictest pro-life bill in the nation into law, outlawing abortion, save an exception for protecting the life of the mother.
“It sends a strong, wonderful message to all the foster care children in our state,” said Gov. Ivey at the time, meeting with adoptive families at the Capitol.
Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) Commissioner Nancy Buckner said about 70% of foster children return to their biological families, according to AL.com, “But those that don’t, they need their own loving caring, permanent family and that’s what it’s all about.”
The spike in adoptions, according to Buckner, was enabled in large part by involvement from juvenile courts, probate judges, and the DHR.
“We recognize that children need permanency. We all need family. We need family connection. And we’ve all gotten together. We’re doing some partnership things together. So, we’re all on the same page and we’re trying to push permanency through,” the commissioner noted.
Pro-abortion advocates often dismiss pro-life arguments with the retort that pro-lifers do not care about children after they are born, citing conservatives’ support for small government. But studies have found that conservatives give more to charity on average, including when socioeconomic differences are factored in, as recently backed up by academics at the University of Pennsylvania.
This was displayed anecdotally last week, too, when a pro-abortion advocate insisted that pro-lifers do not help single mothers.
“Dear Pro-Life friends: what have you *personally* done to support lower income single mothers? I’ll wait,” said author and Times of Israel blogger Sarah Tuttle-Singer via Twitter.
As reported by The Daily Wire, Tuttle-Singer was immediately hit with a slew of responses contradicting her question.
“I’ve spent the last 15 years serving breakfast once a month at a homeless shelter and making lunches for the same shelter once a month on a separate weekend,” one of the many replies read. “I’m the president of the board of directors for our local domestic violence shelter,” another Twitter user answered.
“Donated to crisis pregnancy centers. Volunteered with the Sisters of Life (highly recommend: you can be helpful just by holding a baby while mama gets food at the potluck, for instance) Offered to meet with anyone in a crisis pregnancy to talk about arranging to adopt their baby,” said another.
“Applying for an open adoption, to take care of a child whose mother doesn’t think she can raise the baby, and to keep mother and child in each other’s lives,” another pro-lifer replied. “And I’d also add: donating to @prisonculture’s Black Mama Bail Out to pay the bails of black mothers and send them home to be with their children.”