letter to the editor of The Commercial Appeal, Feb 09

I was delighted to read the heading of Wendi Thomas' Sunday column, "Adoption is what is best for children." I had spent a fair amount of time Saturday talking to my daughter and reminiscing over her choice several years ago to place a baby for adoption. It was an excruciatingly painful decision for her, but one which she has never regretted because she knows it was what was best for her child (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGCxBmoAIAE). Reading Wendi's remarks within the column itself, though, left me heartsick. While it is true that the foster system is far from perfect, I am not by any means persuaded that a baby needs two fathers and no mother, more than being placed in the foster system. Make no mistake: the world we live in is so full of contradictive family situations that it is only by grace that many children become fully healthy adults. The pattern, however, the ideal that we all need to strive for, and the one that has proven by far, hands down, most effective and beneficial, is a mom and a dad, married to each other and fully committed for life. Settling for less is not where our mindset should be; we ought always to strive for the best. Perhaps, just perhaps, instead of wanting to "impose his religious beliefs on all unmarried couples," Rep. Stanley is just trying to stand up for what is true.