Reverend Thomas Vander Woude of Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Gainesville used Facebook to help a couple find some possible parents for their unborn child they thought no one wanted.
According to Martha Drennan, Director of Adult Faith Formation and Liturgy for Holy Trinity, Rev. Vander Woude heard about a couple living in a different state who recently found out the child they were expecting would be born with Down syndrome.
The parents wanted to know if there were people willing to agree to adoption. However, the decision had to be made quickly, as the couple was approaching six months of pregnancy and were considering an abortion.
One online news source reported Vander Woude “begged” the couple not to abort the pregnancy, but Drennan could not confirm that.
“He never spoke with them,” Drennan said. “He didn’t beg them to give life to the child. He just knew they had agreed to give up the child for adoption.”
To help show the couple that there were people willing to adopt a special needs child, he asked Geraldine Erikson, who manages the church’s social media sites, to post the information on their Facebook page over the weekend.
Erikson’s post read:
There is a couple in another state who have contacted an adoption agency looking for a family to adopt their Down syndrome unborn baby. If a couple has not been found by today, they plan to abort the baby. If you are interested in adopting this baby, please contact Fr. VW IMMEDIATELY. We are asking all to pray for this baby and the wisdom that this couple realize the importance of human life and do not abort this beautiful gift from God.
Monday morning, when staff arrived at Holy Trinity, they found all of their phone lines lit up.
“As soon as we turned on the phone lines, the phones started ringing, and they didn’t stop all day,” Drennan said.
Staff had to call in volunteers to take hundreds of phone calls that came in throughout the day.
“They all wanted to adopt the baby. Some of them were representeing organizations that had lists of hundreds and hundreds of people who would be willing,” Drennan said.
Even Rev. Woude was surprised, never thinking there would be such an affirmative response to the inquiry.
Drennan said it is proof that there are people who want “unwanted” babies; it is just a matter of matching the parent and child together.
“It’s not true that children are not wanted; they are wanted. We just need to match the parents with the biological parents."
She said she hopes that knowing how many people out there are willing to adopt a child, even a special needs child, at a moment's notice, encourages more women to consider adoption.
“ will love the child, adopt the child and make it a part of their family forever,” Drennan said.
Since the privacy of the parents is being protected, Drennan is not sure how the parents feel about church’s outreach, or even if they are aware of it; although she has heard they are in contact with an adoption agency.
“I hope is what they wanted, and they are finding that they are going to have a good family for their baby,” Drennan said.
Diane Grover, President of the International Down Syndrome Coalition was also supportive. She said that "parents often aren't presented with up-to-date information, making a Down syndrome diagnosis feel overwhelming.”
While Drennan admitted there were some online debates, all of the phone calls and messages they have received at Holy Trinity have thus far been positive.
She believes Holy Trinity Church would do this again should the opportunity present itself.
“It’s wonderful. It’s truly a testament to the great love and generosity of people across the country,” Drennan said.
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