
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 11, 1993                   TAG: 9309100403
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

PERPETUATING ADOPTION MYTHS

THE JULY 25 articles by staff writer Kathy Loan (``Common tactics often can warn parents against child abuse,'' ``When abuse doesn't win escape from the abuser'' and ``Fear, confusion foil many cases'') dealt with the heartbreaking and compelling issue of child abuse.

The topic of child sexual abuse is one that needs to be discussed and addressed, but I take exception to the language Ms. Loan used when she described the child's father as ``her adopted father.``

First, the correct term is ``adoptive father'' since the child was adopted, not her father. But the more serious point I would like to make is that the method by which this child joined her family is not relevant to this article. She is not a victim of abuse because she was adopted.

Would Ms. Loan describe a father's biological child as the ``vaginal birth'' child or the ``caesarean section'' child or the ``birth-control failure'' child? Of course not, for the simple reasons that how that child joined her family is not important to the news article, and it is inappropriate to qualify her relationship with her family.

These same reasons apply to adoption. Please do not describe adoption as a ``condition'' because, by doing so, you help to perpetuate a societal myth that adoption is a less than optimal alternative for all involved.

JANET SCHEID

President

Blue Ridge Adoption Group

by CNB