From childhood, many women dream of being a mother. The dream may be very specific when girls are young, such as knowing that they would like to get married at 22 years old, have their first child at age 24 and so on. But as women grow older, there are many factors that come into play and change or alter their original plans. The desire to be a mother may never go away, just simply be delayed.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has stated she had the desire to be a mother for many years. But she has had many other desires, and many other accomplishments that took up her time along the way. Now at age 58, Hutchison has adopted a baby girl and is receiving unfair negative feedback from the media for simply fulfilling a normal human desire. Adoption should have only one focus: finding a good home for a child who needs one. Hutchison’s child is not just in a good home, she is in a wonderful home where her parents love her dearly and will do everything in their power to raise her the best they can.
The concern is that Hutchison is 58 years old, and her husband, Ray Hutchison, is 68. The ages of these parents are indeed a worthy concern. No one wants to see a child lose his or her parents at a young age, but realistically this child could be 20 years old before either parent dies of old age. Aside from age, the chances of her parents dying are just as great for Kathryn Bailey Hutchison (to be called Bailey) as they are for any other 4-month-old child.
It must be stressed that the Hutchisons are two well-educated people who have given a great deal of thought to the effect their age will have on their daughter. If Hutchison needed any credentials, she has worked specifically with adoption issues as a member of the Congressional Coalition of Adoption. According to an article from The New York Times, of the 162 members of this coalition, at least 15 have adopted children.
The Hutchisons are not alone in this adoption. They adopted Bailey through a licensed adoption agency, a legal and safe method of adoption for everyone involved and a process that is becoming more popular. In addition, the age problem is not that uncommon.
Julie Mason of the the Houston Chronicle said, “Later-life adoptions are becoming more frequent [according to experts] as women put careers or struggle with fertility issues for years before deciding to raise children.”
Finally, adoption is not an easy process. There are waiting periods and a great deal of paperwork involved, and sometimes a temporary placement of the child is required before the adoption is final. Adoption agencies are generally extremely careful and take great care for the well-being of the child. If it was detrimental for an older couple to adopt a baby, it simply would not be allowed. Alice O’Neil, a Houston lawyer who specializes in adoption, said, “It’s not harder for older couples to adopt.”
The Hutchisons are not selfish; they are two parents wanting a child to love. Their situation is not different from many families, except the media is exploiting them. The new parents described Bailey as “beautiful beyond belief, except for a few occasions at 3:30 a.m.”
Her parents will be with her in the middle of the night when she cries, and they will be there for many years loving and providing for her. Bailey Hutchison has not been mistreated or had her best interests overlooked. She is a very lucky little girl.