Tom and Claire Halverson wanted to adopt a child but after trying unsuccessfully for three years to find a birth mother, they got creative: putting up billboards on the side of the road.
The Halversons, of LaPorte, have posted nearly 90 signs across Iowa and Minnesota in the past few weeks. Their handmade, 3-foot-by-4-foot signs direct people to their Web site, http://www.tomhalverson.com/.
And it seems to have worked: A pregnant woman in Des Moines has expressed interest in giving them her baby in November, the Halversons said. Still, they’re hoping for more calls, because they’ve already had an adoption fall through this year.
Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a nonprofit adoption think tank, said he’s never heard of a family using billboards to advertise their desire to adopt. Couples usually place ads more discreetly on Web sites or newspapers, Pertman said. “One of the reasons this is so startling and discomforting is that we really do think of billboards as selling products,” he said. “It’s disconcerting to think that suddenly selling a family is equivalent to adoption.”
The Halversons say they don’t consider the signs unethical, but just want to reach as many people as possible about their wish to adopt a child, preferably an infant. “We’re not like a typical, well-to-do, pay-for-a-baby type family,” Tom Halverson said. “If you can get a baby, it’s like hitting the lottery.”
I say good for them! This is no different than someone placing an ad in the paper. Getting the word out that you’re looking to adopt is important and Adam Pertman should understand that. If I was considering placing my unborn child for adoption, i would definitely want a couple who thinks outside the box.
