Secretary Sebelius Celebrates the Tenth Anniversary of National Adoption Day
EmailABC's Jordyn Phelps reports:
Secretary of Health and Human Services Sebelius celebrated the tenth anniversary of National Adoption Day at the Department of Health and Human Services today.
Joined by Members of Congress, adoption advocacy advocates, and families with adopted children, Secretary Sebelius noted her contentment in hosting the event.
"It's clearly a great joy to end the week…with some good news and with a celebration," the secretary said.
National Adoption Day, started in 2000 by a judge in Los Angeles, was brought about as an attempt to address the problem of backlogged adoption cases. During tomorrow's Tenth National Adoption Day, about 4,500 adoptions are set to be finalized across the United States.
Secretary Sebelius said that while tomorrow is a day for celebration, it is also a day to draw attention to children who do not have permanent homes.
"Today, there are more than half a million children who are in foster care," Secretary Sebelius said. "That's more than the entire population of the city of Miami."
Part of the problem is a lack of coordination in the adoption process, Secretary Sebelius said. She noted that financial incentive programs are important in connecting children in foster care to adoptive families. She pointed to the "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act," which was signed into law in 2008 by President Bush, as a successful example.
A larger problem, however, is that there are adults who may be interested in adopting but are reluctant to do so. She said that more needs to be done to reach out to these individuals.
"We don't need superhuman parents or flawless parents or even parents with a lot of experience," Secretary Sebelius said. "We just need loving adults who are willing to be parents."
To aid in encouraging those who may be interested but are reluctant to adopt, HHS is launching a national campaign with the message, “Children don’t need perfection, they just need you.”
Senator Mary Landrieu(D-LA), Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), White House Director of Faith-Base and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois, and adoption advocacy representatives joined Secretary Sebelius on stage.
During the event, during which the sounds of toddlers crying and cooing occasionally interrupted the speakers, there were two ceremonial adoptions performed by Secretary Sebelius.
–Jordyn Phelps
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I like this part:
“We don’t need superhuman parents or flawless parents or even parents with a lot of experience,” Secretary Sebelius said. “We just need loving adults who are willing to be parents.”
But, this is an awkwardly worded message:
“Children don’t need protection, they just need you.”
Seriously. Am I missing something? What does that mean?
Posted by: Krakatoa | November 20, 2009, 6:54 pm 6:54 pm
“Children don’t need protection, they just need you.”
Seriously. Am I missing something? What does that mean?
Posted by: Krakatoa | Nov 20, 2009 6:54:32 PM
_____________________________________
Actually, yes – you are missing something . ..
The quote says “Children don’t need PERFECTION, they just need you.”
Posted by: tierra | November 20, 2009, 7:55 pm 7:55 pm
Sebelius, a Roman Catholic vetoed pro-life abortion legislation in Kansas in 2003, 2005, 2006, and again in 2008 including a measure that would have required informing women who are considering an abortion about both the development of their unborn child and the alternatives to abortion.
So she protects abortion AND adoption. Oh yeah I get it, that makes sense now.
Posted by: EPU | November 21, 2009, 12:10 am 12:10 am
Posted by: EPU | Nov 21, 2009 12:10:52 AM
People can support pro-choice and adoption – and the sensible teaching of contraception.
Posted by: tierra | November 21, 2009, 1:01 am 1:01 am
tierra,
Not a Roman Catholic. They are citizens of a higher law.
Posted by: EPU | November 21, 2009, 2:15 am 2:15 am
So let’s get this straight: Sebelius, a staunch defender of abortion, will celebrate adoption and life on November 20, then two months later on January 23 she will celebrate abortion and death on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Yeah, makes total sense.
Posted by: EPU | November 21, 2009, 2:50 am 2:50 am
“So let’s get this straight: Sebelius, a staunch defender of abortion, will celebrate adoption and life on November 20, then two months later on January 23 she will celebrate abortion and death on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Yeah, makes total sense.”
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
Posted by: Jenn | November 21, 2009, 8:22 am 8:22 am
ABC must have updated the quote, because I cut and pasted it directly from the story. Originally, it said:
“Children don’t need protection, they just need you.”
Perfection makes more sense, “Children don’t need protection” sounds creepy.
Posted by: Krakatoa | November 21, 2009, 8:44 am 8:44 am
“Liberalism is a mental disorder.”
Conservatism is a dental misorder; conservatives lie through their teeth.
Posted by: Bill Spooner | November 21, 2009, 9:45 am 9:45 am
…..meanwhile, back at the Swine Flu Ranch………..
Posted by: justj joey | November 21, 2009, 10:48 am 10:48 am
Kathleen Sebelius is such a staunch abortion supporter that her Archbishop met with her several times to instruct her of her moral obligations to defend human life and to convince her to change her position.
This was how she responded, “The governor has spoken to me on more than one occasion about her obligation to uphold state and federal laws and court decisions. I have asked her to show a similar sense of obligation to honor divine law”.
Because of her unabashed support of abortion the Archbishop finally instructed her to refrain from receiving Communion. “Secretary Sebelius makes it appear that she was asked not to receive Holy Communion because she was the victim of merely upholding the law. In reality, Secretary Sebelius opposed even such modest restrictions on abortion as parental notification of minors, required waiting periods before an abortion”.
Naumann said it was “very painful” to ask Sebelius not to receive Communion. “However, I had exhausted every reasonable means to convince her to change her position,” he said. “I also had a serious obligation to uphold the integrity of the Eucharist and to protect other Catholics from being misled by the former Governor’s support for legalized abortion.
“I continue to pray for Secretary Sebelius that she will accept the grace to acknowledge the grave evil in which she has been involved and will have the courage to take the necessary steps to correct the scandal created by her past actions.”
Catholic Sebelius’ Archbishop in Kansas said this in response to her ‘separation of Church and State claim’:
Archbishop Naumann:
“The Catholic Church views abortion as first and foremost a moral issue – not a religious or faith issue – because the sacredness of human life pertains to the natural law, which reveals the intrinsic rightness or wrongness of human acts through reason.”
Posted by: EPU | November 21, 2009, 12:46 pm 12:46 pm
Sibelius is secretary of HHS for all Americans, not just Catholics, and not just those who oppose abortion. Even if she opposed abortion, she would be bound to support the law, which says abortion is legal.
There is nothing inconsistent in supporting the legal right of women to choose abortion and at the same time promoting adoption.
If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.
But if you carry an unwanted pregnancy to term — for the sake of the child, society, and yourself — allow that child to be adopted by someone who can love and care for him or her as all children deserve.
Posted by: Alex | November 21, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
People can support pro-choice and adoption – and the sensible teaching of contraception.
———————-
Not a Roman Catholic. They are citizens of a higher law.
__________________________________
Surely you’ve heard of the separation of church and state – we’re lucky to have people who understand and follow that – it is not the role of government to impose their religious views on the people.
Posted by: tierra | November 21, 2009, 3:39 pm 3:39 pm
Alex,
So in the backwards days of the 1850′s you would have been heard saying:
“If you don’t like slavery, don’t own one.”
Posted by: EPU | November 21, 2009, 4:38 pm 4:38 pm
I am delighted that Sebelius supports adoption. People who think that abortion is still an issue do not understand what happened in the 20th century. That issue has been decided. They can keep the issue “alive” and ruin another 50 years of politics in the US. Sex prior to marriage is also a decided issue. Hip people like Tina Fey abstain – personal moral issues will continue to be personal moral issues. Work at changing the culture if you do not like it.
I am however deeply disappointed in Sebelius. I see her politicing with Arlen Spector – how disparate can you get. The rest of the Zoolander administration is worse. Although some one has to show the world how to look good!
Posted by: welldirected | November 22, 2009, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
I suppose those Americans in the 19th c. who were indifferent to slavery got a lesson in social justice when they too thought the issue of slavery was decided. Abortion today is no different. A victim unable to defend themselves because of a vast society unwilling to recognize them as human beings. History repeats itself.
Posted by: EPU | November 23, 2009, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm