This is the strangest news article I have seen all month. It throws me for aloupe.. I have no idea what to think about it. At first I think of people trying to scam the system and getting multiple payouts for not aborting, even if they had no intention of getting an abortion in the first place.. I also think about how some desperate people may even consider getting pregnant in order to get money this way.
I have friends who say they have lived in area where people just had more and more babies in order to qualify for additional monies both from baby daddies and government programs, so I think of that.
The fact that the article mentions a law tha tprohibits the selling of babies brings more questions to mind. I would hope this article may spur some additional discussions about economics. It is truly sad to think that people could be swayed into bringing new babies into the world for surch a small amount of money, and the fact that such a small amount of money may actually get people to consider making babies for adoption is even more sad. When will we all stand up and say enough is enough. Why we spend billions on some things and yet teachers, babysitters and moms have such little opportunity for a lifestyle that gives them the liberty to make choices that are not overruled by finance.
The article from Reuters:
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas legislator has proposed that pregnant women considering abortion be offered $500 not to end their pregnancies.
Republican State Sen. Dan Patrick, who also is a conservative radio talk show host, said on Friday the money might convince the women to go ahead and have babies, then give them up for adoption.
He said during a legislative conference in New Braunfels, 45 miles south of Austin, there were 75,000 abortions in Texas last year.
“If this incentive would give pause and change the mind of 5 percent of those woman, that’s 3,000 lives. That’s almost as many people as we’ve lost in Iraq,” Patrick said.
Patrick has filed legislation to make the payment state law, but the legislature has not yet voted on it.
His proposal calls for giving any woman going to an abortion clinic the $500 option, to be paid no more than 30 days after the baby is born and given up for adoption.
Critics say the proposal would violate Texas and federal laws against buying babies, which Patrick rejected as “the typical ridiculous criticism.”
Heather Paffe, political director of Planned Parenthood of Texas, said Patrick’s proposal “is very cynical and insulting to women and their families.”
“It’s insulting to think women would make that kind of decision so easily,” she said.”