To Legislate or Not To Legislate

It was a fun filled July 4th weekend with dailyroad trips to visit with friends and family - went to White Plains, Long Island and Union City. All those trips also meant a lot of rehashing what happened down in TX. On the one hand, it's nice that everyone is so interested, but on the other, I think I am done talking about. I just want to put it behind me and wait for my next case to come along.

It did spur interesting debates though. While the adoptive parents have no rights in these situations, and I am left wondering about the rights the babies themselves have, I can't quite figure out how you would even go about changing legislation. I wish we were more protected, and that there was less risk with a birthmother changing her mind, us getting attached and then losing a baby, and not to mention the financial costs and risks. But it is a woman's right to choose to have and raise a child. Even if it isn't in the best interest of the child. And EVERYONE seems to have an opinion on it.

I also know that a lot of adoptive mothers are not offered maternity leave, which is typically covered by disability. I am lucky to work at a great place that offers 3 months maternity leave at full pay - and when my situation came up, they simply added a clause so it would include adoptive mothers as well. An amazing thing to do. But if it's covered by disability, it's no wonder most companies can't afford or don't even think to do that. So not only do we not have rights when it comes to the actual adoption process, most women are then forced to go straight back to work which interferes with their bonding and attachement to their new child.

In this day and age when families are so diverse and adoption is so common, I think it's crazy that legislation is so far behind social acceptance/tolerance. Though I guess the advocates of single-sex marriage feel the same way. We need YOUNG, FORWARD-THINKING officials running our government, fighting for the rights and happiness of our citizens.