Critics are blasting a New York state rule that limits the financial support adoptive parents can give birth mothers, with many saying the state is now making it easier to abort children than to adopt them.
According to the New York Post, the restriction enforced by the Office of Children and Family Services (OFCS) under the administration of Governor Kathy Hochul mandates that financial help can only be made 60 days before the baby is born and 30 days after birth.
The restriction is referenced in a memo sent on January 5 by OCFS Agency Director Shelly Fiebich.
“Be advised that the New York State Office of Children and Family Services Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (NYS OCFS ICPC) office has revised the Adoptive Placement Fee Disclosure Form OCFS-4690 to clarify that the [agency] will only apply New York law when reviewing fees paid or to be paid in the context of an adoptive placement and an application for [agency] approval of an adoptive placement into New York,” Fiebich wrote. Fiebich also said that her agency “will not accept an out-of-state court order that addresses the subject of fees.”
Many times, adoptive families offer financial support to a birth mother as she prepares to give birth, in some instances paying for her prenatal care or living expenses. For instance, the New York Adoptive Placement Fee Disclosure Form says:
Such fees may include expenses for housing, maternity clothing, clothing for the child, and transportation for a reasonable period as not to exceed 60 days prior to the birth of the child and no later than 30 days after the birth of the child or 30 days after the parental consent to the adoption.
Adoption lawyer Lisa Goldberg told the Post that the restriction will discourage a birth mother from choosing a New York family to adopt her child.
“Why would a birth mother pick you if you’re limited in how much you can assist her?” she said. “It disadvantages an expectant mother who can’t get [more] financial assistance from a New York family even if they do the adoption in her home state.”
The state’s decision to limit the financial help available to birth mothers stands in stark contrast to its policy to allow even paid gestational surrogacy, which became legal in the state in 2021. At that time, the state allegedly agreed to heavily compensate women for renting out their wombs, including a minimum compensation of $35,000, and required health and life insurance for a year after the baby’s birth.
Meanwhile, women who wish to place their own biological children with adoptive families are left with little financial recourse.
Dennis Poust, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference, also compared the directive with the state’s liberal abortion laws, telling the Post that the requirement now means it is easier to abort a child in the state than to adopt.
“New York is encouraging women from other states to get abortions here but discouraging pregnant women from other states to provide loving homes for their babies right here in New York,” he said.
Poust added that he is hopeful the pushback to the policy will persuade Hochul to change the guidelines.
“We hope she will look at this situation and propose remedies where needed,” he told The Tablet. “Families who want to adopt and pregnant women who want to give the gift of love should have all the help they deserve from New York State.”
