“We Will Adopt Your Baby” is the meme we wish we didn’t need

A couple supported the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade reversal with a “We Will Adopt Your Baby” sign. Then, the Internet did what the Internet does.

Los Angeles, CA, Monday, June 27, 2022 - RiseupforAbortionRights rallies hundreds throughout downtow...
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Culture

While the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade will ensure devastation and death for countless people, many on the right wing have downplayed the potential dangers of forced pregnancy. As several states immediately banned abortion, with more to follow, one pro-life talking point has been the claim that a solution for those unable to receive basic healthcare is to simply give up their baby for adoption.

The deceptive reasoning has been swiftly memed over the last couple days after a beaming couple at protests last Friday proudly held up a sign, reading: “We Will Adopt Your Baby.” Online, people have co-opted the line with images of a variety of decidedly unsafe figures as stand-ins for the couple.

Some have also pointed out how this logic of adoption is completely abandoned when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of children already in foster care. It is also a disingenuous band-aid replacement over much-needed investment in the myriad of social services that would help parents actually care for the babies whose well-being pro-lifers are purportedly concerned about.

Perhaps the most tragically funny aspect of it all is how the original couple in the photo addressed their sign. The married couple apparently are not U.S. citizens (meaning they wouldn’t even be able to adopt babies here) and have not adopted any children so far, but they wouldn’t mind taking some of your money: