The Car Analogy

This past spring, my friend's cousin adopted an adorable baby boy. I have become addicted to her blog as I have always been an adoption advocate, and I feel like she shares a lot of really good insights. She shared a story she heard at a conference about how teenage pregnancy is like a carwreck. I found it very touching and thought-provoking and want to copy it down here:

A young man and a young woman are out on the lawn outside of a very busy street. The child they are both responsible for runs out into the street. At the same time the couple becomes aware that there is a car coming at a very high rate of speed. There is no chance that the child will not get hit. The car is coming much too fast.

The couple has four options:

1. They can do nothing and watch the child get hit and killed by the car, the psychological memory of this inaction burned in their minds forever.

this is abortion.

2. They can both jump out and sandwich the child between them to brace the child for the collision. If they can stay together, there is minimal injury to the child. however, there is a
80-90% chance that they will split upon impact.

this is couples that try to stay together and/or get married because of a crisis pregnancy.

3. One of the parents can jump out in front of the car by themselves. Injuries to the child are more substantial.

this is single parenting.

4. One or both of the parents and run out into the street and push the child out of the way of the speeding car and into the outstretched arms of a couple on the other side of the street.

this is adoption.

However, even with adoption, the birth parents always get hit by the car