Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / April 2004

> April 13, 2004

> */BE MY BABY/**... DECIDING THE FUTURE OF AN UNBORN BABY BOY*
> *A  UNIQUE LOOK INSIDE THE INTENSE COMPETITION
> *OF THE OPEN ADOPTION PROCESS *
> *AIRING ON "20/20," APRIL 30*
>
> In a unique television event, *Barbara Walters* documents a young
> mother's journey as she interviews five anxious couples vying for a
> child of their own. "I was basically deciding if they're going to have
> children or not. I was kind of playing God," says Jessica, 16, about
> her heart wrenching choice of who would adopt and raise her unborn
> baby boy while allowing her to continue to play a part in his life.
> "20/20" cameras are there as each couple tries to convince the
> pregnant girl that they would be the best parents for her
> soon-to-be-born baby. But after all of the heartache, will the 8 ½
> month pregnant high school sophomore really be ready to sign away her
> legal rights once the baby is born and she can hold him in her arms?
> The emotional journey airs on *"20/20's" /"Be My Baby" /on FRIDAY,
> APRIL 30 (**10 - 11 pm ET**) on the ABC Television Network*.
>
> Jessica, who dreams of becoming a nurse one day, says she wants to
> keep the baby, but her mother and stepfather believe it would be too
> hard on the family. Jessica reluctantly agrees, as long as it is an
> open adoption, allowing her and her entire family to be a part of the
> baby's life. So with the guidance of "A Child's Waiting" adoption
> agency, Jessica and her mother select five families to interview and
> they become the judge and jury in an extraordinary competition. "You
> don't want to goof anything like this up - it's too important. It
> involves a baby's life," says Beth Anne, Jessica's mom.
>
>  "20/20" cameras were there last October when the competition for
> Jessica's baby began as the finalists arrived at the agency one by
> one.  Each couple would have less than a half an hour to convince
> Jessica that they should be the parents of her unborn son.
>  
> */Karen and Tab Brown, mortgage broker and sales executive/*
> The Browns have been married for 10 years and have a son Trace, 8.
>  They desperately want a brother for Trace. Their second child died
> shortly after his birth. They are Jessica's first choice on paper. "We
> were joking about the fact that it's like/ The Bachelor/, /The
> Bachelorette/. You're in or you're out tonight," says Tab. Jessica: "I
> thought about how good it would be if I was able to place my son with
> them.  It would be like giving them the baby that they lost."
>
>*/Steve and Kathy Fellinger, police officer and
> administrative assistant
> The Fellingers always wanted a big family. They adopted their first
> son Nathan who was born two months premature, barely clinging to life.
> He is now a healthy toddler. "It will be devastating if we're not
> picked," says Steve. Jessica: "I thought they were very kind people
> and they genuinely had good hearts because of their one son that they
> adopted... even though he might not have been a healthy baby."

> math teacher
> Adoption is their last hope to have a child. Over the last four years,
> Tina has undergone several unsuccessful surgeries for infertility.
> "There were things that I wouldn't even anticipate would make me
> cry... I took a different route in the store because I didn't want to
> walk by all the baby products," says Tina. They are the only couple
> without a child, a fact that concerns Jessica: "I didn't want him [her
> baby] to be an only child and just sit around all day and not have any
> brothers and sisters to play with or anything."

> The Strassers, an older couple, have an adopted daughter from the same
> agency. Says Steven: "I hate to even think about it this way - but it
> is a marketing thing. You are marketing yourself." Jessica: "I like
> this family because [they] adopted a child before and it's open adoption."
>
>  

> therapist
> The Trnkas are high school sweethearts who have one daughter after
> four miscarriages and a dangerous tubal pregnancy. They tried to adopt
> before but the birth mother decided to keep the baby they were
> selected to adopt.  "We thought... here it is.  We're gonna have a
> baby boy.  And, and it was... another heart break," says Beth.
> Jessica: "I like Matt and Beth because... they stress that it's
> important that the baby knows who the parents are and they're a very
> close-knit family."
>
> So who will Jessica choose? "It's probably one of the biggest
> decisions I'm ever going to have to make in my life," she says. And
> Tina McKeen agrees: "Here was a 16 year old who was in total control
> of our lives. She had in her hands our happiness.
>  
> "20/20" cameras are there as Jessica tells the "winning" family her
> decision. But this is not the end... Jessica is still not sure she
> will be able to give up her son. "How am I going to give this little
> baby to somebody else?... I'm going back on this whole adoption
> thing... don't want to do it," Jessica admits. And nothing is final
> until she signs relinquishment papers. Under Ohio law she has 72 hours
> to make up her mind. According to research, up to 30% of all
> birthmothers change their minds before they sign. And even Jessica's
> mother, who had initially pushed for adoption, wasn't ready for the
> love she felt for her first grandchild.
>
> In the end, who will raise the little baby boy? There are many
> surprises along the way. "20/20" visits Jessica, the baby and all five
> families six months later to see how it all turned out.
>
>  "20/20" has a long history of reporting on adoption
> stories, including exposing the plight of Romania's forgotten children
> and uniting Cambodian orphans with their new American families.
> Walters introduced her own adopted daughter Jackie during an adoption
> special, "Born in My Heart ,"  two years ago.  "Adoption is a subject
> dear to our heart," said "20/20" Executive Producer David Sloan, "and
> the story of Jessica's baby is particularly powerful and compelling."

> ABCNEWS.com, the 24-hour news service of ABC News and
> part of the ABC Internet Group, will provide companion programming to
> the broadcast./
>
>  "20/20" is anchored by Barbara Walters and John Stossel. David Sloan
> is the executive producer. "Be My Baby" is produced by Teri Whitcraft,
> Deborah Katz and Joel Bach. Martin Clancy and Eric Avram are the
> senior producers.  
>
> CONTACT:     Alyssa Ziegler Apple, 212-456-1624
>                         Lisa Finkel, 212-456-6190
> *- ABC -*
>
> Alyssa Ziegler Apple
>ABC News Media Relations
> 212-456-1624