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."
Care to venture a guess or offer a reason for why so many crisis pregnancies in the black community?
You really think his comment was racist? If you do than you must believe the imbalance in baby rates is racist...just a reminder GoreisLove...the market is a faceless being...it can't possibly be racisit.
Who sets the price then?
What can we do about this...what is the solution here?
Other than cutting off government aid that facilitates this behavior, very little can be done, unless you can figure out how to explain the benefits of marriage to a person who has no examples of such in their family.
Yeah, but who is the price going to, and who has ownership? Normal economics is supply and demand between the rightful owner or producer, and the purchaser. Here, the constriction of supply will motivate the purchaser to pay a premium, but it may not be a free-market exchange. That doesn't mean that economics doesn't apply to profiteering and the black markets, but some transactions are societally bad, and a disguised form of theft.
If it could be demonstrated that the fees went back into care for all of the children, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I wonder where the money goes.
A new committee to be created by the United Nations. Something this important can't be decided by the free market.
It's the buying and selling that may be of concern, not the law of supply and demand.
Descrimination is fine. Prejudice is stupid.
If you didn't discriminate, you would likely not be alive.
I've met enough trash of all races to know its not a "genetic" thing, its cultural. You have to eliminate that culture. The culture I speak of is NOT "African" culture, its the culture of dependancy. Its the inability to place a value on ANYTHING, even you life, because you've never had to work for anything.
All they have to deal with now is the ignorant morons who see them out with their kids and say stupid shit like, "Oh....pity you couldn't have children of your own." They do have one biological child, BTW, but being staunchly pro-life, when it came to having other children, they decided to walk the walk and adopt unwanted children.
They have also been at the receiving end of some stupid racist comments for having a "mixed" family.
That's a good question, since it does not seem plausible to be that it costs $31,000 in expenses even when considering the supply issue. Are these centers making a profit?
That kind of crap makes me sick...those types of comments are really stupid because they come from "stupid racists".
< grin >
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.