H.R. 213

I have a very important favor to ask of you, blog readers. Congress is going to vote on H.R. 213, which would extend the adoption tax credit.

The average adoption fees are $25,000+. No, you are not buying a baby, you are paying the many professionals (social workers, lawyers, counselors) who help both the birthfamily and adoptive family through the process. They must dot the i's and cross the t's to make an adoption street-legal. Each adoption takes many hours of labor, all of which must be paid for by the adoptive family. That's all fine and the way it should be, but it's a daunting amount of money for would-be parents without a trust fund. In my opinion, adoption should not be about the money at all, but it's a real part of the process, and a limiting factor. Without the tax credit, our 2 disruptions (both of which we still had to meet expenses) would have been the end of our adoption journey.

The federal adoption tax credit helps cut that in half for adoptive families, making adoption a possibility for the middle class. If Congress votes against continuing the tax credit, many adoptive families will have to withdraw from their waiting pools, and many other couples who were dreaming about adoption will have that door closed to them forever.

Besides hurting potential adoptive families, birthfamilies will then have a smaller pool of families from which to choose. If they cannot find an adoptive family that feels right for them, they may feel forced to parent, even if they don't have the means to raise a child. Or they may even feel the best remaining option is abortion.

As an adoptee myself, I am so thankful that my birthmom was able to give me life and that my parents were able to give me a home and family. If the tax credit is eliminated, this cycle is going to come to a relative standstill, leaving children in need.

Please contact your Senator or Rep. Email makes it so easy to do. Ask them to vote in favor of H.R. 213, which will extend the adoption tax credit and help build families. Use this link to find your representatives in Congress, and send them a quick email. Please make yourselves heard.

We, and the 10% of American families touched by adoption, THANK YOU!