Casey Anthony: Why Didn't She Choose Adoption?

Family Friday

Casey Anthony may be one of the most hated women in the US, or at least it appears that way according to recent media coverage.  Rarely have I indulged in late-night channel-flipping lately without encountering Nancy Grace snarling into the camera about "Tot Mom" Casey Anthony, the 22-year-old Florida woman accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.  (What an odd moniker - since I have a 2-year-old, aren't I also a "Tot Mom?")

I haven't followed the case closely enough to form an opinion about Casey Anthony's guilt or innocence.  But what has struck me most about the whole mess is this:

Casey Anthony is 22 years old. 

When I was 22 years old, I made seven dollars an hour working at a public health hotline - and that was with a college degree!  I had no health insurance.  My boyfriend-now-husband and I would donate plasma for extra money, then splurge on restaurant meals and alcohol.   

When I was 22 years old, life was All About Me.  If I had had children then, they would have suffered greatly from my emotional immaturity. 

Based on the salacious pictures Nancy Grace waves around ("Tot Mom in Lesbian Kiss!", "Tot Mom Relieves Herself in Parking Lot!"), one thing about the case is crystal-clear:  Casey Anthony liked to party.

So why on earth, when Casey Anthony found herself pregnant at age 19 or 20, didn't she give the baby up for adoption?  Most of us know at least several couples who, after years of trying, have been unable to conceive and want to adopt. 

Let's take the thorny issue of abortion out of the picture (and in the interest of full disclosure, I am rabidly pro-choice).  For the sake of argument, let's say that a young woman decides that abortion is not the right choice, and carries the pregnancy to term.  Why do so few of these very young women choose adoption?  It would seem like a win-win-win situation:  baby gets a loving home with adults who actively choose to be parents; infertile couples get a child; and the young woman can keep partying. 

I suspect that many women view giving up a child for adoption as an admission of failure.  We've all heard of cases in which someone murders his or her spouse because divorce would be too embarrassing and stigmatizing.  Maybe the same kind of mental process is occurring here. 

What are some public health initiatives that could encourage more of these women to choose adoption? 

In high school health classes, teenagers are often assigned to carry virtual babies with them day and night, tending to their crying around the clock.  The aim here, however, is to encourage teens to avoid pregnancy in the first place, so it doesn't necessarily work in this context. 

I've seen plenty of bumpers stickers and the like that read "Adoption: The Loving Choice."  But this seems to aim more at the adoption-abortion debate (i.e., the implicit message is "Abortion: The Hateful Choice.")

I'm not a marketing or public health expert, but the Casey Anthony case has me wondering: how can we, as a society, promote adoption among young and immature women who carry pregnancies to term?  I'm imagining an ad campaign with pictures of young people at a wild party (similar to the Casey Anthony ones that make Nancy Grace screech) with the tagline:  "Choose Adoption: Then The Party Can Continue."  Perhaps this picture could feature a split screen with an ecstatic couple holding a baby.  Another possible tagline: "Choose Adoption: Make Someone's Dreams Come True, Then Continue Partying."

What are your ideas?

Comments

[me]

because that fat bit.. cindy scamthony wouldnt let her.

[Hannah R]

It is very simple why she didn't choose adoption. She wanted to,
but her mother forbade it. Her mother forced her to have the child.
Casey felt unable to withstand the pressure. I believe that Casey is a
sociopath, but I also believe that her mother had a large part in her
hideously skewed development

[Laura]

Hi Jenny, good post. I'm guessing you haven't followed that part of the story. Supposedly, Casey Anthony did indeed want to give her daughter up for adoption, or not have her at all. However, her mother Cindy (Caylee's grandmother) would not allow it. Now I know what you're thinking: she was of legal age to decide for herself, but you have to understand that this girl was leeching off her parents (and still was up until her arrest) so I think a threat of "we'll kick you out and you'll be on your own" was enough to scare the jeebies out of her. Though I'll bet Cindy Anthony is now wishing she had let her daughter choose adoption. You are absolutely right about adoption being a great solution, which is why I'm such a fan of the Safe Haven laws :)

[Blameonlyyourself]

there comes a time when you have to quit blaming mommy and make your own choices - Casey could have given Casey up for adoption - that wasnt the choice she chose not to make - the choice she chose not to make was then she would have to get out of mommy's house and get a job!

[abbie]

Casey Anthony is a habitual liar. When she told Kio she could adopt the baby - she was lying. When she told Kio that her mother 'wouldn't let her give her child up for adoption' she was again lying to get out of the previous lie.

Cindy Anthony is not lying when she says that she did not have that conversation with Casey Anthony BECAUSE IT DID NOT HAPPEN. Casey Anthony lied and is now they are trying to say the Kio is the liar.

Don't forget that we have a time conflict here. As of 7 months gestation, Casey Anthony was not admitting to being pregnant - with NURSE Cindy Anthony's denial saying 'how could she be pregnant if she's never had sex?' to her brother at a wedding.

(Makes me wonder if Casey Anthony disregarded prenatal care for her unborn child for all those months - that brings into play her not caring for her child even before she was born.)

Casey Anthony named at least two boys to be the father and lied about the circumstances of one of them to make the story interesting - depending on who she talked to.

There is NOTHING that has come out of that criminal's mouth that can be considered the truth and what is frightening is that is also including her life BEFORE she had to lie about where her daughter is.

Just as her parents did and still do, Baez is going to TRY to put the blame everywhere but on where it belongs: On Casey Anthony.

[Emma]

Adoption is not always the "loving choice". There are psychological ramifications that come with adoption for both the adoptee and the birth mother (though since it seems that Casey does not have a conscience -- she may have been fin).
Specialists now see behaviors and patterns in adopted children that are very much like those in abused children and children from broken homes.

That all being said. Life is not perfect no matter what a child's situation. Adoption is a choice and would have been a perfect choice in this scenario. I just wanted to interject and say it is not as perfect and win-win as many people say it is.

[Lyn Millett]

There is a very thought-provoking piece about the unspoken effects of adoption on birthmothers here: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/03/breaking-silence-on-living-pro-lifers.html

A quote from that piece: "Believe me when I say that of the two choices, it was adoption that nearly destroyed me - and it never ends. The only comparison I have is the death of a loved one. The pain retreats, maybe fades, but it comes right back if I poke at it. Writing this has taken me nearly two weeks. Normally, I can write this amount in about thirty minutes, with bathroom breaks. I started to type, and stopped only to reread, then go wail into my pillow. There is no such thing as "over" with this."

[Ardra]

Those who are rabidly pro-choice don't think about the needs of others, be it a couple who wants to adopt, or the growing life inside of them. They don't want their bodies stretched or the inconvenience, or shame.

[Linda Elliott]

My gosh girl, you don't keep up with what's going on. The girl was looking for options as per testimony from her friends. Her mother, the wicked witch of the West, who browbeats everyone in the little nest of snakes that lives in that home, wouldn't hear of it. Pitiful that a person would be so selfish to put that on her daughter, well, Cindy, you got your way. Now how does it feel, maybe you are not so smart after all.

[Mike Douglas]

If adoption (and a wonderful agency) had not been an option years ago, my family's situation would have been much diffeent. We are intense advocates of CHOICE and in our cse, adoption was the correct one.
Uncle Mike