The Weekly is a rundown of news by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission highlighting the week’s top news stories from the public square and providing commentary on the big issues of our day.

Why the Adoption Tax Credit Matters

What is the adoption tax credit?

Initially passed in 1997, the adoption tax credit has had broad, bipartisan support for its entire existence. The adoption tax credit eases the financial burden families face when growing their families through adoption. Since 1997, hundreds of thousands of families have used the tax credit to make adoption financially feasible.

The adoption tax credit is available for families who adopt through foster care, private domestic adoptions, and intercountry adoption. The credit is currently $13,570, but families making more than $243,540 may not claim the credit, and families making more than $203,540 may only claim a partial credit.

Families who adopt special needs children may claim the entire credit. Families who adopt children without special needs may claim their qualified expenses, up to $13,570.

How much does adoption cost?

Adoption can be very expensive. There are a number of different variables, which means there is no “average” cost of an adoption. But intercountry adoptions can easily cost more than $60,000 or $70,000. For many Americans, the adoption tax credit can make a huge difference and in some cases determines whether a family will be able to afford to adopt.

Over 60 percent of adopted children are adopted by middle- and lower-income taxpayers, and almost half of children adopted from foster care live in families with household incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

Just as important to consider is what adoption saves the government. The government saves between $65,000 and $127,000 for every child who is adopted rather than placed in long-term foster care.

Why is the adoption tax credit important?

Because the adoption tax credit eases the financial burden of adoption and brings adoption within reach for many families, the credit helps to increase the number of adoptions that happen each year.

Why should Christians care about adoption?

Adoption is central to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only does the Bible provide numerous instances of God protecting orphans and urging His followers to do the same (James 1:27; Psalm 68:5-6; Isaiah 1:17), but the Bible also tells us that every Christian is adopted into the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:4-5). 

Adoption strengthens families, communities, and our nation. When vulnerable children without families are adopted into loving families – whether through foster care, domestic adoption, or intercountry adoption – we are all better off. Children within loving families live healthier and more successful lives compared to those in the foster care system, whether you’re looking at graduation and employment rates or incarceration and homelessness.

What happened to the adoption tax credit in the tax reform plan released yesterday?

The adoption tax credit, like many other tax credits, would be eliminated under the proposal released yesterday.

It is true that there is an increase to the child tax credit, a new family tax credit, and an overall decrease in tax rates. These policy proposals will work to lower the tax burden for most American families.

But these proposals don’t and can’t replace the adoption tax credit. By eliminating the adoption tax credit, the tax reform proposal would make adoption more expensive for most families, even if their tax burden is less over time.

What is the ERLC doing to help?

The ERLC is having productive and encouraging conversations with Republican leadership in the House of Representatives about this important tax credit. While these conversations have been encouraging, we will remain focused on this issue until we have been assured that the adoption tax credit will be protected in the final version of any tax reform bill passed by Congress.

If you are concerned about this issue, we encourage you to call your U.S. representative and share those concerns. If you don’t know who your U.S. representative is, you can find that information here.

This week on ERLC podcasts: On the Capitol Conversations podcast, Matt Hawkins and Travis Wussow discuss the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and the Trump Administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Sudan with Gavin Gramstad of The Nehemiah Group. And on the new ERLC podcast series, “How to Handle,” Trillia Newbell and Courtney Reissig talk about postpartum depression.

Other Issues

American Culture

'I Am a Man With Down Syndrome and My Life Is Worth Living'
Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

Congressional testimony that illuminates what a developmental disability means—and doesn’t mean

Child Sex Offenders To Be Named As Such In Us Passports
Matthew Lee, Associated Press

America's registered child sex offenders will now have to use passports identifying them for their past crimes when traveling overseas.

How U.S. refugee resettlement in each state has shifted since 2002
Jynnah Radford, Pew Research

The resettlement of refugees in the U.S. has been fairly consistent across the country since 2002, with no state resettling a majority of them.

An Alternative to Burial and Cremation Gains Popularity
Jonah Engel Bromwich, New York Times

This week, California became the 15th state to outline commercial regulations for the disposal of human remains through the method, chemically known as alkaline hydrolysis.

Bioethics

Kansas Supreme Court To Rule On Dismemberment Ban In Important Abortion Case
Margot Cleveland, The Federalist

Two abortionists in Kansas are trying to expand a legal strategy that seeks to discover rights to abortion inside state constitutions, not just the U.S. Constitution.

Embryos and Five-Year-Olds: Whom to Rescue
Robert P. George and Christopher O. Tollefsen, Public Discourse

Both human embryos and human five-year-olds are human beings equal in fundamental worth and dignity. But there are differences between the embryos and five-year-olds that are or can be morally relevant to the decision concerning whom to rescue.

Judge OKs suit over baby body parts research
Samantha Gobba, WORLD News Service

A woman's lawsuit against a New Mexico abortion center will proceed, thanks to a New Mexico judge's refusal to dismiss her case.

Christianity and Culture

Moore, others oppose 'White Lives Matter' rallies in TN
Tom Strode, Baptist Press

Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore and other Christian leaders in Tennessee declared their opposition to "White Lives Matter" rallies in the state in a joint statement issued today (Oct. 27).

Migration a 'divine opportunity,' conf. speakers say
Seth Brown and Lauren Pratt, Baptist Press

This year's Reaching the Nations conference brought together more than 500 people in person and via live stream to learn and grow in how to reach refugees and immigrants in North America.

International Issues

Christians Are Fleeing the Cradle of Christianity Again
Ewelina U. Ochab and Alexander W. Titus, Providence

Islamic State (ISIS) managed to rule the cradle of Christianity for over two years while implementing a reign of terror.

Myanmar crisis draws BGR aid, recalls Judson legacy
David Roach, Baptist Press

Residents of Myanmar -- early beneficiaries of the Baptist missions movement two centuries ago -- once again are the focus of work by Baptists. This time, Baptists are providing aid in response to a humanitarian crisis among the Rohingya, a large Muslim people group in southwest Myanmar.

Love Thy Neighbor: South Asia Christians Advocate for Rohingya Muslims
Morgan Lee , Christianity Today

Believers in Bangladesh and Pakistan aid fellow persecuted minority fleeing Myanmar (Burma).

Marriage Issues

Is the Retreat from Marriage Due to Cheap Sex, Men’s Waning Job Prospects, or Both?
Paula England, Institute for Family Studies

Part of why marriage is diverging by class is the increasing inequality by education in men’s employment and earnings.

Sexuality Issues

Women are real
Everett Piper, Washington Times

Not everyone buys into the fantasy that ‘gender’ is a fabrication.

Why the Government Shouldn’t Force Bakers—Or Anyone—to Express Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Steven Smith, Public Discourse

Antidiscrimination laws are fully within the government’s authority—but only when the government is not using such laws as part of a campaign to compel people to express “by word or act” their support for a government-prescribed orthodoxy.

Sexuality Issues

‘Men’ Get Pregnant Too, British Government Declares
Grace Carr, The Daily Signal

The phrase “pregnant woman” needs to be more inclusive and termed “pregnant people” in a U.N. treaty, the British government announced on Monday.