Posted on 03/12/2002 1:26:04 PM PST by antaresequity
The practice, which is widespread among private adoption facilitators, of charging prospective parents different fees depending on the race or ethnicity of the child they adopt is one that Hutcherson is fighting to change from his Redmond, Wash., church. The Antioch Bible Church has established its own adoption agency, and is lobbying state legislators to change Washington's laws.
"I've got championship Rottweilers. I sell them by supply and demand," Hutcherson said. "I raise thoroughbred racehorses. I sell them by supply and demand. I'm not going to let people sell children by supply and demand. What's the difference between that and slavery?"
The campaign to change the law is directed at Washington state legislators, but Hutcherson said he would prefer to see the federal government step in and create one set of regulations governing adoption, rather than leaving the issue to the states to decide.
Current Washington law bans payments to a birth mother for placing a child for adoption, but does not address payments for arranging an adoption or the fees that may be charged.
"I think it's an issue that Americans have not looked at closely enough, because if they had, things wouldn't be the way they are," he said.
He hopes to get attention around Washington with a billboard campaign as soon as he can raise the $70,000 to $80,000 he needs. The billboards will feature a white baby, a latino baby and a black baby and next to each, the fees some adoption facilitators might charge for them: $35,000, $10,000 and $4,000.
He said that besides putting a price on children, the practice discriminates against white babies and people who seek to adopt them an issue he said has been overlooked because white people, particularly those who can afford the high adoption fees charged, are not used to considering themselves victims of discrimination.
"I know about discrimination," said Hutcherson, who is black. "I don't care who it's against, it's wrong. Tell me that if it was black babies that cost $50,000 and white babies that cost $4,000, people would be screaming their heads off."
This, I can tell you with total certainty: It's not.
Here is a link to Antioch Bible Church's adoption ministry website.
I know this man personally.
For those who might be wondering about him, I have to say that I have never met a man with greater integrity than Ken Hutcherson. Antioch Bible Church is a multi-racial congregation, and Pastor Hutch is not the slightest bit afraid of what people think of him and his uncompromising views. (He recently roomed with Rush Limbaugh on a fishing trip, incidentally.) He has been known to hold accountable other black pastors who wish to exclude white people from their church activities; he is very straightfoward regarding issues like homosexuality.
I think he has a problem with the fact that it costs an arm and a leg to adopt a child. Consider this paragraph in the Seattle Times interview, above: "The most discriminated-against couples in America today are white couples trying to adopt white children," he said. White babies are treated as the "Mercedes" of adoptees, or black children are deemed less valuable, and either position is immoral, he said.
Say what you will about him - disagree with his methods if you think you have a better idea - but understand that he's doing this because he loves children and he wants to see them have homes.
This is a good man, people.
a man goes to the butcher shop to buy some human brains.
looking into the case he sees:
white brains- 50 cents per lb
japanese brains- 75 cents per lb
latin brains- $1 per lb
african brains- $2 per lb
and polish brains at $25 per lb
astonished, he asks the butcher why the high price for the polish brains.
the butcher replies: 'are you kidding? do you know how many polocks we had to kill to get a pound of brains?'
Blacks also have an incredibly high abortion rate.
Apparently the only person who got it was the person I originally prefaced the comment to. Calm down and stop taking yourself so seriously.
Crazy people have babies every day. It is heartbreaking, of course, but that is a choice we have here in the States. The State has to work long and hard to take away a child. Do I think the bar is misapplied at times? You bet.
But as a conservative, I would never advocate government licensing of parents or more government intrustion into family life.
The biological mom was 11 when she had her first child. A couple years later she had another. Both were removed from her care. Then a couple years later she had her third child, who was removed from her care, then she had her last child, which was removed at birth. Our two boys are her last two kids. The biological mom is white and the fathers are Mexican and Guatemalen, so their color makes them look like they could be ours.
The adoption process will be over later this year, sometime after the biological moms parental rights are terminated(May 1). We haven't spent a dime for the process through the county. They made us attend parenting and CPR classes, but that was it. Since we're foster parents until the process is over, we get money every month for each boy. We're told the money will continue until the boys are 18 years old (college fund!). They also have medicare until they're 18, so we don't have to worry about insurance for the boys.
It's been a long and sometimes difficult process, but well worth the wait. We don't feel like we're doing anything special - we wanted kids but couldn't have our own, so we adopted.
You are right, life is terrificly unfair. Thank goodness that you are able to see past it and realize that a government solution is not the answer.
I will get you back one of these days. < /just kidding...?> :-)
I personally agree with this attitude. We have two children of our own, but can't have any more. We would love to adopt children (any color...it wouldn't matter). I think it might be something we will look into in the future, as we have talked about it before. I feel more children would be abopted, if it wasn't so dang expensive. There are a lot of families, like us, who would love to take children into their home. But they (we) live pay check to pay check, stashing away what they can for retirement. Not every couple who has the potential to be a great parent to a child, is wealthy or upper-middle class.
My sister gave her baby to close friends of ours. It was an open aboption and has worked out well. It cost them over $20,000, without going through an agency, etc. I'm assuming the cost was for legal fees.
Are you going through social services? We've been thinking about this too.
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