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One of the biggest forms of marketing that agencies use to attract pregnant women, or birthmothers as they call them, is the promise and sometimes vehement encouragement of financial help during pregnancy.
One of the biggest forms of marketing that agencies use to attract adoptive parents is the promise of quick turnaround and a quick and easy process.
In my opinion, the guilt falls squarely on the shoulders of the professionals involved. There is no blame to assign to the parties involved, in my opinion. You can only do what you’re educated to do. If agencies were responsible for the expenses involved in the pregnancy, I can guarantee you that they wouldn’t use money as a marketing angle to attract “birthmothers”. If agencies would stop making these “fast placement” promises and dangling them in front of potential adoptive parents like a carrot in exchange for astronomical fees (in which they have played a huge role in racking up), that would be a step in the right direction.
There are hundreds of women who have placed their children for adoption and never accepted a single dime of assistance and for every ten of those, there is one agency who is “sticking it to the man” in the name of “expenses” that they never paid, but they know they can collect, because people who were promised a quick turnaround have given them carte blanche for the situation.
It is a vicious and disgusting circle.
I also believe that agencies should be paying these expenses they promise to pay, because I firmly believe, once they are required to do so, they will move heaven and earth to find a way to get those needs covered via donations and/or free services, like Crisis Pregnancy Clothing Closets and Homeless Shelters. Once they are required to pony up, they will stop offering heaven and earth to these women during a personal crisis and instead, provide actual support and services.
Just think, if there were government oversight, mandatory licensing and price gouging laws in place – everyone would pay the same, regardless of the child – and every woman would get the care she needs (although, I admit, in some cases, it may not be the care she wants, as there are some people who simply use adoption as a means of supporting themselves, sadly).
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