Forced Sterilization?

While my husband and I were on our trip recently, our host had the television tuned to a national news program. I don't remember which one. What I do remember was the topic: forced sterilization of drug addicts.

The advocate was someone who had adopted two or three kids of drug addicts. She felt right in her position because she had given these kids loving homes. Those who were critical, she said, had not done the same. She seemed to suggest that unless people had done so, they were in no position to criticize.

I'm not sure what to say about this, other than to note it here. On the one hand, it's true that addicts sometimes have lots of kids who end up in the foster care system. It does seem terribly unfair to these innocent kids.

But who am I to decide? I am not God.

I am grateful for those loving people who can give special needs kids a loving home. A very close friend adopted three special needs kids. A man in my Al-Anon home group adopted two. In both cases, there were drugs and alcohol involved. These aren't easy kids to raise. They need a lot of love to have a fighting chance. It takes a special kind of person.

I read a memoir about a girl who grew up in the foster care system. The title is "Three Little Words." It broke my heart.

Here's where my writerly instincts tell me I'm supposed to say something wise. Present a solution. Suggest some nugget of Al-Anon wisdom. But when I search my toolbox, I find I can offer nothing but prayers.