We promote adoption as a positive option for those facing unplanned pregnancies.
October 2025 News
Here's the video of my presentation at the Lawmakers' Summit. (The challenge is fitting it into 13 minutes!)
Progress, Progress, Progress!
We - the Third Option Coalition - launched The Third Option initiative at the Live Action Lawmakers' Summit in August.
In the room were 95 Senators & Representatives from 35 States. All were invited to join The Third Option initiative and become a Third Option State. That means starting up new state-level programs through their own Health & Welfare Dept to:
1) increase adoption awareness through education,
and
2) improve birth mother care & support.
On the web site we share about the national leaders who make up the Third Option Coalition, and how Idaho is poised to be the very first Third Option state. About a dozen others were quite interested in joining us or discussing this option. Talks continue!
Meet our new Board Member:
Sydney Curtin
We are happy to announce that Sydney Curtin has joined our Board.
Sydney is a dedicated mom of three, a business owner, author and a passionate advocate for birth mothers & adoptees. As a birth mom and public figure, she is strongly focused on advocacy in the adoption community to bring about needed change. (See why we were interested in bringing her onto our team?) You can read more about Sydney here.
Exciting: Courageous Considerations!
Our friend, Ambassador and now board member of Unplanned Good, Sydney Curtin, has just published her first book. Courageous Considerations appeared on Amazon last month.
Sydney's new book is a labor of love. She wants women considering adoption to go into the process fully informed and 'eyes wide open'. She lists many questions that birth mothers may not think to ask at decision time, so it's an incredibly helpful tool to ensure that potential "birth mothers" get all the information they need.
Conference Next Week: AAAA
Next week, I'll be attending the American Association of Adoption Attorneys mid-year conference in Savannah, GA. Hope to meet more adoption attorneys who want to help & advise us as we pass good adoption laws across the country. Working in collaboration with adoption attorneys helps to ensure that our adoption bills are well-written and truly needed by the adoption community.
Molly White and Mary Browning interviewed Terri on Sept 9. They talked about adoption as an option and why it's not a more frequent choice. Listen to Terri's Interview here.
Molly White and Mary Browning interviewed Sydney Curtin, our new board member, on Oct.6. Sydney shares her birth mom story.
Listen to Sydney Curtin's Interview here.
New Testimonial on our Site
Our friend Celeste lent her beautiful story of choosing adoption for us to share on the Unplanned Good site.
Thank you Celeste for encouraging others, and reminding them that they are not alone.
Thanks so much!
After several years serving on the Unplanned Good Board, we say goodbye to Lysa Marcouillier-Riachy. As a mom and a birth mother, Lysa lent a valuable perspective to our work, which we appreciated and learned from over the years. Thank you so much for your service, Lysa!
Want to help??
We are entering a new phase of national visibility and influence. It's very exciting! If you are interested in being a part of our culture-changing work, consider volunteering with Unplanned Good:
- We may be adding to our Board.
- Support us financially (expenses grow as our opportunities grow!!)*
- Admin Assistant needed to organize travel and proof newsletters and speeches.
Please get in touch!
(marcroft.theresa@gmail.com). Thank you!
*A Note on Finances
This is the very first year in the history of Unplanned Good when the opportunities to do our work exceed our ability to cover the related expenses. Until now, they balanced each other out somehow. The donations covered our plans and expenses. (And remember, ALL of our donations go to spreading the word about adoption as an option; the Board and I do not take any compensation for our work).
It's a whole new ballgame since we stepped into the spotlight with more bills passed in Idaho, other States introducing our bills in NH, CA, OR, TX (etc), our Amicus Brief en route to the US Supreme Court, the Third Option national initiative, and more speaking invitations than ever. We appreciate our supporters so much, and invite you to join them. Donate here if you can. Or become a monthly supporter, starting at only $25/month. We're grateful for either!
Phrase of the Day: Open Adoption
Open adoption is a form of adoption in which the biological and adoptive families have each other's contact information and varying degrees of contact with each other, by phone, in person and/or through social media.
OPEN ADOPTION;
It's Not Like the Olden Days!
All of this is about spreading the word about open adoption -- a reasonable option for women facing unplanned pregnancy. The 1970s and 80s were all about closed adoptions. Then we discovered the beauty of open adoption. Learn more about open adoption in this short video.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Fewer than 1% of women facing unplanned pregnancy make an adoption plan?
- When they do, it's because an adult in their life encouraged them to consider adoption?
- There are over one million U.S. couples waiting now to adopt?
Check out our website at www.UnplannedGood.org/
Comments? Email us, at UnplannedGood@gmail.com
Submit stories, testimonials, questions or comments.
Why are we doing this?
Young women are 50% more likely to make an adoption plan when the trusted adult in their life suggests it to them. Otherwise, most girls don't give it a minute's thought, and choose between abortion or single parenting. That's why we need to get this on the radar of more people.
Please forward this newsletter to someone you know who has been touched by adoption. Ask them to sign up for our monthly news here and/or contribute their story to our web site.
Thank you so much for your continued encouragement & support of UPG.
-Terri
About Unplanned Good
We promote adoption as a positive option for those facing unplanned pregnancies. It can be so very good (and beautiful!) for all involved.
Unplanned Good is reaching out to both teens and their parents, to let them know that adoption is an option. Studies have shown that young women are 50% more likely to see their pregnancy through and make an adoption plan when an adult suggests this path.
Please visit our site, and pass it on. Read the encouraging, heartfelt stories there. Send in your own story, and ask a friend to do the same.
