Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, other states have enacted laws aimed at protecting unborn life, which Townhall covered. In addition, Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, pointed out that “16 states now offer alternatives to abortion funding (A2A) to strengthen and support adoption agencies, as well as the nearly 3,000 pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes that exist around the nation to provide resources, care, and support to pregnant women in need.”
At a press conference GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY) said that “these efforts have protected the lives of an estimated 181,000 children.”
“This year’s anniversary of Dobbs is a moment to embrace how far we have come in this movement to protect the sanctity of life. It is also a historic opportunity to continue to strengthen the culture of life in America as we look to the future," Stefanik added.
Now, a new study is claiming that these efforts to protect unborn children have put a strain on the nation’s foster care system.
A new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics claimed that restricted abortion access in certain states was associated with an 11 percent increase in foster care entry. According to the study, these findings were “statistically significant for foster care entries of Black children and children of racial and ethnic minority groups compared with White children.”
“These findings suggest that restricted abortion access can have far-reaching consequences, including an increase in the number of children placed into the foster care system,” the study added. “Given the implications of the Dobbs ruling, there is a need to understand the full consequences of restricted abortion access.”
Several reports in recent years have indicated that couples have been rejected from becoming foster parents because they do not support transgender ideology.
In one case, a Catholic couple named Mike and Kitty Burke were barred by the state of Massachusetts from fostering children over their religious convictions.
According to the Becket Fund, the Burkes underwent hours of training to become foster parents, as well as going through extensive interviews and a home study. During the interviews, the Burkes were questioned about their views on sexual orientation, marriage, and gender dysphoria. After this, the state denied them to foster children because “their faith is not supportive and neither are they.”
The New York Post added that the authors of the Burkes’ file called them “lovely people” but said they wouldn’t be “affirming to a child who identified as LGBTQIA.”
Becket noted that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) currently does not have enough foster homes or facilities to meet the needs of the children in its care, leaving over 1,500 children without a family to live with.
And, the organization has documented how there’s been other attacks on people of faith who want to foster children. These attacks, it noted, are because they do not subscribe to the current liberal orthodoxy on LGBTQ and other issues, including in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.