Passaic, NJ – An Orthodox Jewish member of the New Jersey State Assembly introduced a bill Nov. 22 that would require adoptees to be placed in homes that would “maintain a child’s religious upbringing.”
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Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Dist. 36) of Passaic said he introduced the bill out of concern that an adoptee or foster child could be “put in a home where the parents practiced a religion other than that of the child.”
Within a day of the bill’s introduction, Schaer said, it has already received support from David Mandel, the CEO of the Orthodox Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services in Brooklyn and from Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum and an advisory board member of the New Jersey Council on American Islamic Relations.
“Not only Jews and Muslims but many smaller Protestant sects, and even some people in the Catholic community” are supporting the measure, Schaer said.
Will this outlaw the giyur of adopted children we take in?
This is dumb, it would limit ppl from adopting, I know frum ppl that adopt none Jewish kids and they become Jewish, would this stop that?
I know an anecdotal story about a frum family from Flatbush that has an adoptive son who is biologically not Jewish and whose roots are Irish and Native American. This bill would have made it illegal for this frum family to raise him to keep shabbos and force him to observe kashroot as he does now. They also made him go through an official conversion at 13 and he graduated from an orthodox yeshiva. This bill works both ways. His Orthodox Jewish parents would have to raise him with Irish Catholic and Native American traditions. Next, these crazy politicians who never adopt children themselves will demand that new families guarantee that the kids graduate from Harvard or guarantee them a BMW at 16 because their biological parents had these things. And many kids who are adopted from overseas are to be taught their native language and cultural customs too? Why just stop at religion?
This is a really great thing, most adoptees understandably want to know where they come from. They want to know their medical history, understand why they were given up and meet people that might look like them. As Jews that hang on to our history and heritage we can certainly understand emotional ties to our heritage. It can be very upsetting and confusing for an adult to realize that they could have led a very different life. By being sensitive to culture and religion when placing children, we can at least guard them from massive culture shock such as a birth family with very different religious beliefs. I know several people that were adopted to wonderful families and who fully appreciate and love their adoptive parents, but really struggle with the absence of their birth family. I also know people who have met their birth families and that created alot of additional issues.
I can respect where the Assemblyman was trying to go w\this bill, but I actually think it’s a horrible idea!
My husband & I are thinking about adopting in the future… I cannot imagine being required to raise that kid in Catholicism (for example) just because he’s Mexican American & all of his biological family were Catholics! Come on!
There’s no way that Jason & I would do such a thing- we know we’re not allowed to teach idol worship to our kids! So if the *requirement* would be that we would HAVE to do so… well, then we wouldn’t be able to adopt, now would we? Especially if we went through the foster care system, which we were thinking about doing!
I think a bill like this would just end up making it harder for kids to be adopted, because if the bill passes… now parents are going to be even MORE picky when choosing a child, than they already are!
First people only want a boy (or a girl), then they only want one of a certain race or culture… sometimes people get as picky as to worry about what hair color & eye color a child has! I mean it’s really ridiculous!
And now they’ll have to obsess over what religion the kids is too?! They’re going to give up & NOT adopt!
While maybe it is nice that people adopted non-Jewish children and made them into frum Jews, it is WAY MORE IMPORTANT for us to not lose our children who are put up for adoption to other religions. Why try to find non Jews to make into Jews, when there are Jews out there who need to be made into Jews? There are children being born to non-frum Jews who are put up for adoption- then lost to us because they are adopted by other religions. Jews should look for Jewish children to adopt.
As an adoptee, adopted at birth and converted to Judaism at 3, i grew up frum but knowing my back round. People who want children have enough obstacles leave religion out of it!!! I understand the thought to keep Jewish children knowing that they are Jewish but there is a huge flip side for those of us who would never gotten to be Jewish if this assemblyman has his way.
As an adoptee who was born christian adopted by a Jewish couple and converted at 3 to Judaism i find this very disturbing. Religion should be kept out of the adoptive process. I understand the thinking to keep Jewish children Jewish however there is a huge flip side for many others who if this assemblyman has his way would never be Jewish. People struggle to adopt children its a long and draining process don”t put more obstacles in their way.
How narrow minded people can be. As an adoptee who was not born Jewish but was adopted and converted in early childhood I cannot imagine living my life as a non Jew. Religion should be kept out of the already difficult process of adoption. I understand the thinking of keeping Jewish children knowing that they are Jewish however there is a huge flip side for those of us who would have been rejected due to our birth mothers religion. The assemblyman should come visit my Jewish home and 5 Jewish children and do some research! My parents never kept my past from me, most adoptive parents are very open about the story of their “miracle”
what if the child has no religious identity? Maybe the parents were non-practicing Catholics, or atheists. I can see the point of the law perhaps to protect older children who have some religious awareness, but nevertheless, making it harder for people to adopt in the long run does not help children. Foster care is not the same as a permanent loving home.
I think we can all agree that it’s a great tragedy when Jewish children are adopted by non-Jewish parents. It’s also a problem when non-frum Jews adopt non-Jewish children who then undergo non-halachic conversion (or no conversion at all). They grow up thinking they’re Jewish when they’re not.
When birth parents have a preference of the religion of those who adopt their children, that should be taken into account.
I realize that some poskim recommend that Jews adopt non-Jews. Our posek told us to adopt Jewish children, so we did. Any Jew who wants to adopt Jewish children should contact the Jewish Children’s Adoption Network in Denver.
this law is possibly Constitutionally problematic.
The best bill would be one that allows anyone to foster/adopt any child BUT, if there is a specific request from the parents then that must be abided by. This irons out all your problems.