life

Today is Hannah's due date. Our friends Heidi and Jarrod will adopt her as soon as she is born and can come home from the hospital. This is their second adoption. It's not really that common that babies are born naturally on their due dates, but we've all been so excited that I almost wish she would come today.

Hannah's mom is young. Very young. A sophomore in high school. Whatever her reasons for chosing to entrust her little girl to more capable hands, I don't know. She does have some courage though.

I thought of Hannah for a different reason today than just her due date. In this issue of WORLD magazine, a small story about a doctor in California who helps parents chose their ideal child. Jeff Steinberg has a reputation for letting parents pick the gender. Now was going to add another feature to his skills: PGD or preimplantation genetic diagnosis where parents can choose the eye and hair color of their child too.

The first family that Hannah's mom chose turned her down. They were concerned that they didn't know exactly who Hannah's father is and that her mom didn't take care of herself like she should of. That's why Heidi and Jarrod will, God willing, get to take her home when she arrives.

Must we flash back to Nazi Germany to remember the horrors of a society that was trying to propogate their numbers with the perfect Aryan blonde, fair-skinned people. We do this kind of things with animals - breed them for desirable traits. But we also eat animals.

Perhaps I am harsh in judging. But isn't the point of adoption to give a home to a child that needs a home. Even under the best of circumstances, babies don't turn out "perfect". Whatever "perfect" means. Parents of biological children usually take what they are given. Is there a different standard for adoptive parents?

In two blogs I frequently read, moms Angie and Jennifer, both were faced with the facts that their daughter and son, respectively would be born with problems. Angie wasn't a druggie or didn't fail to take care of herself during her pregnancy. Her daughter was born early and lived only a few hours. But oh, the lessons she and her husband Todd Smith of Selah learned through God allowing their daughter to have a condition. Jennifer was told at around 20 weeks that her son might not make it to birth with his heart condition. Stellan was born without defect. Apparently God chose to heal him of the defect that showed up on the tests early on.

It's also interesting that Dr. Jeff Steinberg shares his name with another Jeff Steinberg who was born less than perfect - without arms and legs to be exact.