“PREGNANT? Consider adoption. YOU choose your baby’s family!” an ad screamed at me from a Pennysaver I was browsing today.
Someone recently handed me the cheap brochure of area classifieds hoping I would read a local column tucked in somewhere between listings of lost pets and hernia repairs. I could read about the National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (March, apparently) and “How To Get The Job Done!” with a GC2310 Tractor/Loader/Backhoe for only $299 per month, if you use a certain type of financing and ask the dealer for details.
Lots of weird items jumped out at me, but the pregnant ad takes the cake.
Who would respond to such an ad? In the Pennysaver? And what does it say about the American society that ads like these exist? Is it possible that this is the only way out for some people, who don’t know anything about birth control and “accidentally” have a baby without really knowing how it happened or what to do?
The ad makes it seem like this is such a wonderful option, an easy one. This is what it should have said: “Don’t want to dump your baby in the wastebasket after it’s born? Now you don’t have to. You can pass it over to someone who might care! And you get a picture sent home from their birthday party, without having to worry about making the cake or addressing the invitations. Piece of cake, really.”
Scary, really scary.
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4 comments:
You would hope that someone would, you know, counsel you or try and help you, before you were forced to resort to the Pennysaver ad to cope with your unplanned pregnancy.
I really wonder who exactly needs that ad too, and I am an American.
I suppose there is a strong connection between the ad and your conclusions in "Nudity is dirty in America". If sex is a taboo, then probably young people don't get the necessary information.
This is the kind of post that perpetuates the ignorance of adoption. Adveritisements are just one way that women who do not have the resources to care for their loved child can connect with a waiting family who can provide for them. There are many reasons for a woman to make an adotpion plan besides unexpected pregnancy. Unless you have gone through it, it is not something you should publicly shun.
Anonymous>> I do not shun adoption. My point is that there is something fucked up with society if a person cannot get help and support with these types of decisions from a counselor or doctor, for example, without having to worry about whether it is legal or too expensive or if her parents are going to find out.
And what is to say that a Pennysaver advertisement like this will help you find a loving family for your child? I wouldn't call this shopper credible, and I would certainly not rely on its ads to help me plan the future of another human being.
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