A Texas lawmaker wants to offer abortion-minded women a $500 incentive to choose adoption over abortion, The Associated Press reported.
Adam Pertman, head of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, said he doesn’t like the bill, even though it could make more babies available for adoption.
“You let women respectfully make the best decision they can at an excruciatingly difficult time,” he said. “Introducing money into the mix can be coercive.”
But Sen. Dan Patrick, sponsor of SB 1567, said while some accuse him of treating babies as a commodity, he's just trying to save lives.
“We’re just giving someone an incentive to put your baby up for adoption,” he said.
If just 5 percent of abortion-minded women chose the incentive, Patrick said, 3,000 babies could be saved.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus on the Family Action, said one way to see it is as a speed bump.
"Economic concerns are often at the top of the list when a young woman faces an unexpected pregnancy. How will she pay for the baby? Will she have to quit work or school?” she said. “An offer of $500 may encourage a woman to stop and think through her options.”
If a woman sees that the state cares that much about her baby, Earll added, then maybe she'll look into what other public and private support might be available.
