The National Council for Adoption is DoA 11107

By Jessica DelBalzo

Every October, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute presents various adoption supporters with the "Angels in Adoption" award. These prestigious awards are received by organizations and individuals whose commitment to family desecration has been proven time and again. Confident that they have had a hand in destroying the lives of more parents and children than their colleagues, recipients are proud to proclaim themselves "angels in adoption."

This year, Pound Pup Legacy decided it was time for a change. Just in time for November, America's National Adoption Awareness Month, PPL is ready to announce the unfortunate winner of its first annual Demons of Adoption Award. Nominees include:

* Adoption.com for being a big business with international forums that ban members who vocalize any negative views about adoption.

* The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, for acting as though individuals and organizations that threaten family preservation are deserving of support and praise.

* The Council on Accreditation, for the dubious conflict of interest caused by including pro-adoption lobbyists on its board.

* The National Safe Haven Alliance, for advocating infant abandonment and ignoring the real problems that contribute to infanticide and abandonment.

* The NYC Administration for Children's Services, for not checking up on Judith Leekin.

All of these contenders put up an admirable fight, but they were unable to beat out the infamous lobbying arm of the United States adoption industry, the National Council for Adoption. True to its name, the NCFA is an unabashedly pro-adoption organization. Formerly managed by the infamously anti-open-records Bill Pierce, this vulgar group is now manned by Tom Atwood. He may have a new name and a new face, but he presents the same anti-family points of view as his predatory predecessor.

Among the DoA-worthy sins committed by the National Council for Adoption are:

* The conception and implementation of the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program. IAATP is a government-funded course which instructs pregnancy professionals in the art of adoption coercion. The goal? To procure even more infants to meet the demands of prospective adopters.

* The promotion of irresponsible and hurtful adoption terminology unfittingly named Positive Adoption Language. PAL includes such disparaging qualifiers as "birth" and "biological" in reference to parents who have or are considering surrendering a child for adoption, as well as the very deceptive term "adoption plan" to describe a mother?s surrender.

* The legislative support of Safe Haven Laws. These laws dangerously allow anonymous infant abandonment, leaving children without their medical records, family history, and most importantly, family members. They fail to adequately protect parents, grandparents, and other relatives who may wish to raise the abandoned child. Additionally, Safe Haven Laws have shown themselves to be ineffective in preventing unsafe abandonment and addressing the psychological and social issues that contribute to abandonment.

* The presentation of open records as a violation of parental privacy rights. Despite exiled mothers of the Baby Scoop Era railing against the NCFA's claims that they were promised confidentiality and do not want to reunite with their adult children, the NCFA continues to uses these mothers in its campaign to keep adoption records sealed.

In short, the NCFA is this years Demons of Adoption Award recipient because of the measures it has taken to increase the number of adopted infants, promote adoption among marginalized pregnant women, and continue the abuse of families separated by past adoptions. The bottom line is that the National Council for Adoption wants nothing more than to help its supporters line their pockets with money accrued through predatory adoption practices. With the presentation of this, the very first DoA Award, Pound Pup Legacy is pleased to announce the tarnishing of the NCFA's already bent and broken halo. Remember, lurking within every "adoption angel" is a demon just waiting to be exposed.