Adoption

President Bush’s proposal to give tax incentives to parents who adopt the mentally retarded has gone largely unnoticed; it needs serious thought, but only once.

Adults who care for children--be they disabled or otherwise--do so because they want to, not because of financial incentives. There are already tax incentives for parents with children, yet couples do not say: “Gee, honey, we need another deduction next year, let’s have a kid!” Similarly, those that want to adopt a mentally retarded child will do so regardless of any short-term incentive. Instead, the incentive will open the door for exploitation by those who would only consider adoption for the monetary benefits. Those who abuse and exploit children will be encouraged to adopt for financial gain. They are not the type of parents that we need.

Taxpayer dollars would be more successfully spent on medical care, birth control, education and prenatal care. Studies continue to show that for every dollar of prenatal care that is spent, many times that amount is saved postnatally. Yet public health funding continues to decline. The mentally retarded and all other Americans would be better served if the education and medical fields were better funded.

Let’s encourage better, healthier lives for all children and continue to be selective about who is privileged enough to adopt. A majority of mentally retarded births are not preventable, but abuse of the system and abuse of the children are.

RONALD A. MOSSLER

Granada Hills