Choosing Adoption

I could not believe my eyes when I came across “They Make Adoption 1st Option” (Feb. 14). My wife and I adopted our second child about five years ago after we’d had our first, a biological son, in 1989. Our reason was simple. We “want children” and “there are children who need parents,” as so succinctly stated by the soil scientist from Minnesota.

We are from Bangladesh and taboos against adoption are strong there, especially if you can bear your own. When we first told my mother, she was incredulous. She herself had 13 children, 12 of whom survived, and she could not quite accept the fact that we would adopt. But the moment my wife placed 8-month-old Priya on her lap her heart melted. We have been back to Bangladesh a couple of times since then and our conservative family has very much accepted our adopted daughter as one of the family.

I strongly urge every woman or couple who is considering expanding their family to consider adoption as long as there are unwanted children in this world.

ISHTIAQ A. CHISTI

Long Beach