Proclamation 5910 --
National Adoption Week, 1988
By
the President of the
A
Proclamation
The
family, society's most fundamental unit, is part of God's design for human
happiness. Belonging to a family is a natural and vital component of life, and
every child deserves to be a member of a loving and nurturing family. For many
children, this becomes possible through life in an adoptive family. That is
good reason for all Americans to celebrate adoption and to commend and
cooperate with those in the private sector and public service who work to find
loving, lasting homes for waiting youngsters.
For
some children, the waiting is much too long. More than 30,000 children now in
foster care are in need of permanent homes. Most of these fine youngsters have
special needs; some are of school age, in sibling groups, members of
minorities, or affected by physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. But all
of them have two things in common -- they need families of their own, and they
have great love to offer new parents. We can all learn much from the wonderful
experiences of adoptive families already blessed with special-needs adoptive
children.
We
know, however, that the waiting is long for many prospective parents as well.
Thousands of marriages in our country are childless, and many families are
anxious to adopt. Many single people also desire to know the happiness of
adoption. Adoption brings immeasurable joy to adopted children and adoptive
parents alike. It also gives us cause for hope -- that more youngsters will
find lasting homes and that ever more Americans will find within themselves the
generosity, courage, and love to make adoption their personal alternative to
the cruelty of abortion. Prolife pregnancy counseling
centers exist in cities and towns across our land to help mothers choose life
for their unborn infants. These mothers give their babies not only the gift of
birth but also the gift of a bright future with a loving adoptive family. These
brave women, and those who decide to raise their babies themselves, deserve our
admiration, friendship, and help while they are expecting and after.
There
is more each of us can do to encourage adoption, from making our neighbors and
communities aware of this option to making room in our own homes for
special-needs children and adoptive infants. As a Nation, we must continue to
promote adoption and to eliminate barriers to it. We must also offer our
appreciation and encouragement to the millions of our fellow citizens -- such
as adoption caseworkers, foster care supervisors, judges, lawyers, clergy and
religious, physicians, teachers, pregnancy counselors, and countless volunteers
-- who help children and families with adoption. In this way we can aid more
and more Americans in discovering the special joy of building a family through
adoption.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office
of the Federal Register,