Words

I am a frequent poster on a tight knit community of newly (and not so newly) weds. One section is devoted to babies. Recently, someone posted this quote: "Adoption is not without its risks because you don't know the pedigree of that child."

While I know her intentions were well meaning, her delivery really upset a lot of people. She is a medical field, and apparently uses words like "pedigree" quite often in relations to humans. However, most people, when they think of "pedigree" think of a dog or animal. Not a baby. The medical history (much preferred over the term 'pedigree') needs to be disclosed, that is important. And most agencies, facilitators, and lawyers make sure that adoptive parents are able to receive that information from the birthparents.

It's important to think about how we speak about adoption, and use postive adoption language. Adoption is a way to build a family, just as birth is. Both are important, but one is not more important than the other.