An increasing number of Jewish parents are turning
to 7-11
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Photos By Glenn Triest

Poragn Adoptions.

in Washtenaw County, an
area with two major univer-
sities and a dispropor-
tionately large child-
bearing-aged population.
A sizable number of
babies are born each year to
unwed mothers in the
United States, almost
800,000 in 1988, according
to the United States Census
Bureau. But a variety of
complex social and cultural
changes in American life,
such as legalized abortion,
declining fertility rates and
changing social conventions
toward illegitimacy, explain
the lopsided supply/demand
picture. Twenty-five years
ago, about 50 percent of the
unwed mothers in the
United States would
routinely opt for adoption as
their solution to an il-
legitimate pregnancy. Today,
less than 10 percent do.
"These days, there is much
less stigma about raising a
child born out of wedlock,"
Ms. Falit says.
-Esther Krystal, coor-
dinator of adoptions and
foster care at Jewish Fami-
ly Service, says 30 couples
are on the agency's waiting
list, and she cautions would-
be adoptive parents to ex-
pect a wait of about three
years.
"People who wish to adopt
have to use much more in-
genuity these days," she
says. "They cannot just get
themselves on a list. They
have to talk to others and be
much more active in finding
sources." In fact, personals
columns in publications
ranging from USA Today to
the Eastern Michigan Echo
frequently run ads from pro-
spective adoptive parents
seeking healthy, expectant
mothers who wish to give up
their babies. Ms. Krystal
says her agency receives
several calls each week from
couples in other states
checking the wait for adop-
table babies.
Time becomes important
— even urgent — for many
couples trying to start
families. Many young mar-
rieds, Jewish and non-

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David Shore and son Douglas.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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