Get Help NowTwice in the past few weeks, Colleen Mulligan (Expectant Parent – Adoption Liaison), and Emma Vonder Haar (Communication Coordinator) have met with senior theology classes to talk about adoption as an alternative to abortion.
The SmartBoard at the front of the classroom starkly displayed the number 8,740. Colleen, a 2009 alumna of Ursuline, asked the twenty or so girls sitting in front of her what they thought that number might correlate to. Some guessed number of adoptions, others numbers of babies born. When it was revealed that this was the number of abortions had by Missouri residents in 2013, the response was audible.
Colleen went on to talk about the abortion rate in relation to infant adoption, which was under 600 for the year 2007, as infant adoptions in the state of Missouri are so rare that they have such limited data. As the class is a Life & Death Issues class, the students went on to discuss how adoption is a life-giving alternative to abortion. They asked questions about the legal process of adoption and shared stories of adoption in their own lives. In fact, in one classroom, there were two students that had been adopted themselves, and could lend a unique and personal testimony to adoption.
Colleen then showed a video about a young woman named Hannah who faced an unexpected pregnancy during her junior year of high school. Hannah made the brave decision to place her daughter with a family, and talked about why she chose adoption as an alternative to abortion. The students talked about their reactions to the video and how to talk to their friends or classmates who may be considering placing a child in an adoptive family.
Many of the students in this class had been planning on going on the March for Life in Washington D.C. this year, but were not able to go because of weather conditions. During the presentation, Colleen asked whether the topic of adoption was brought up during discussions about abortion in relation to the pro-life movement. Colleen was able to talk with the students and show them how adoption can be a loving, life-giving decision.
Colleen, in her new role as a liaison between our Expectant Parent Program and our Infant Adoption Program, promotes the brave decision of adoption through outreach. To help to promote these outreach efforts, download our adoption flyer here. If you’d like a speaker to visit your classroom, organization, or group, please call Emma at 314-854-5779 or email evonderhaar@ccstl.org to schedule.
