President Donald Trump celebrated the “blessing of adoption” this week by committing to providing a brighter future for all children, including those not yet born.
Recognizing November as National Adoption Month, the president highlighted the work his administration has been doing to help children and families thrive.
“My administration believes that every human life has inherent value, and encourages adoption as an alternative to abortion,” Trump said. “All children, born and unborn, deserve a chance to have a better, more prosperous future.”
He said adoptions are at a record high and the number of children in foster care is dropping. Still, 153,258 children were placed in foster care due to neglect, and 86,694 children were removed from their homes due to drug abuse in 2019, according to the White House.
While reuniting children with their birth families is the primary goal of foster care, some children cannot be safely returned to their birth homes. Some foster children wait more than two years to be adopted and others age out of the system without ever finding a permanent family.
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Trump said his administration has been working to end the opioid crisis as well as increase funding and oversight of the foster care system. He especially has been supportive of faith-based foster and adoption agencies, which Democrat leaders are trying to force to shut down unless they violate their beliefs.
The president also highlighted an executive order that he signed in June to encourage partnerships between private, public and faith-based organizations to keep families together and, when that is not possible, to find children adoptive homes. His order also expanded resources for trauma training as well as support for guardianship and kinship care for children who age out of the foster care system.
He encouraged mothers facing unplanned pregnancies to consider adoption if they cannot parent their child themselves.
“Every year, countless families -– including many who cannot have children of their own –- cherish the priceless gift of an adopted child,” Trump said. “I commend the selfless men and women who preserve the majesty of God’s creation by providing children with a chance at a better life.”
Currently, there are more than 122,000 children waiting to be adopted in the foster care system, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One in five of them are teenagers.
