Adoption Option: Documentary Is Life
David Scotton
David Scotton  in I Lived on Parker Avenue (trailer image via YouTube)
A documentary about a young man who is grateful to  his  birth mother as well as to  his  adoptive parents.
Do you want to meet gratitude? Then  David Scotton âs your man. At a time when we are taking public-policy advice from traumatized  grieving young students  consider this eternally grateful one.
 David Scotton  is a 24-year-old law student with a little movie with a big message. Adopted at birth   he  allowed  with some hesitation and prayer  a filmmaker to follow along  his  journey from New Orleans to Indiana when  he  was 19 to meet  his  birth parents.
The other day at the Sheen Center in Lower Manhattan  I heard George Weigel  the John Paul II biographer  assert that people of heroic virtue are all around us. Saints  they are frequently known as â in this case  though  not canonized and in Heaven but living in our midst  often unaware that they are sources of great grace and inspiration.  David Scottonâs  birth mother is chief among them. And all those things about saints is true of  her   if the documentary I Lived on Parker Avenue is any indication.
One of the first things  she  wants to do is seek forgiveness from David. For so many years  this mother  suffered with worry that the boy  she  gave birth to would be hurt by the fact that  she  chose to âgive him up for adoption â as the expression goes. Our language for adoption seems to suggest abandonment when  in fact  it is just about the greatest and most loving sacrifice. I think of the story  from the State of the Union some weeks ago  of the young police officer and his wife and a woman named Crystal who is suffering in the grip of addiction. But  she  wants better for  her  baby. And there is a couple who can help  her  realize that aspiration. As there was in the case of  David .
Melissa had the added guilt that she and her boyfriend not only considered abortion when she was pregnant with  David  but that she went to the clinic. In I Lived on Parker Avenue she describes the dramatically painful scene she ran out from. In one of the most uplifting scenes Iâve ever watched on video  Melissa and  David  visit the spot where that clinic once stood. (Itâs a health clinic now  and abortions are no longer performed there.) For him  itâs like the opposite of a memorial dedicated to some grave event. It was there where he was given new life  even in the womb. She should feel no guilt. She gave life and love to  David  and to  his  adoptive mom and dad.
The beauty of I Lived on Parker Avenue is that  in some respects  it isnât primarily about abortion or even adoption  though promotion of âthe adoption optionâ is certainly this young manâs mission. Itâs about gratitude. One of the most compelling scenes of the 30-minute film occurs when  David  expresses in letters â personalized and everything  there are communications beyond text messages still! â what his adoptive family means to him. He wanted to assure his parents and extended family and friends that meeting his birth parents had nothing to do with finding his âtrueâ parents and everything with saying âThank you.â
âWith only two adoptions to every 100 abortions in the United States  and with the stigmas society still unfortunately shares about adoption  it is important to get this film out there â  David  tells me. âEven though I am adopted  I am no different than a biological child. Even though my parents are my âadoptiveâ parents  they are my mom and dad. My âbirthâ parents are exactly that: birth parents. Those distinctions are real and need to be shared.â
[TGT] in I Lived on Parker Avenue (trailer image via YouTube)
A documentary about a young man who is grateful to   [TGT]   birth mother as well as to   [TGT]   adoptive parents.
Do you want to meet gratitude? Then   [TGT]  âs your man. At a time when we are taking public-policy advice from traumatized  grieving young students  consider this eternally grateful one.
  [TGT] is a 24-year-old law student with a little movie with a big message. Adopted at birth    [TGT]   allowed  with some hesitation and prayer  a filmmaker to follow along  his  journey from New Orleans to Indiana when  he  was 19 to meet  his  birth parents.
The other day at the Sheen Center in Lower Manhattan  I heard George Weigel  the John Paul II biographer  assert that people of heroic virtue are all around us. Saints  they are frequently known as â in this case  though  not canonized and in Heaven but living in our midst  often unaware that they are sources of great grace and inspiration.  David Scottonâs  birth mother is chief among them. And all those things about saints is true of  her   if the documentary I Lived on Parker Avenue is any indication.
One of the first things  she  wants to do is seek forgiveness from David. For so many years  this mother  suffered with worry that the boy  she  gave birth to would be hurt by the fact that  she  chose to âgive him up for adoption â as the expression goes. Our language for adoption seems to suggest abandonment when  in fact  it is just about the greatest and most loving sacrifice. I think of the story  from the State of the Union some weeks ago  of the young police officer and his wife and a woman named Crystal who is suffering in the grip of addiction. But  she  wants better for  her  baby. And there is a couple who can help  her  realize that aspiration. As there was in the case of  David .
Melissa had the added guilt that she and her boyfriend not only considered abortion when she was pregnant with  David  but that she went to the clinic. In I Lived on Parker Avenue she describes the dramatically painful scene she ran out from. In one of the most uplifting scenes Iâve ever watched on video  Melissa and  David  visit the spot where that clinic once stood. (Itâs a health clinic now  and abortions are no longer performed there.) For him  itâs like the opposite of a memorial dedicated to some grave event. It was there where he was given new life  even in the womb. She should feel no guilt. She gave life and love to  David  and to  his  adoptive mom and dad.
The beauty of I Lived on Parker Avenue is that  in some respects  it isnât primarily about abortion or even adoption  though promotion of âthe adoption optionâ is certainly this young manâs mission. Itâs about gratitude. One of the most compelling scenes of the 30-minute film occurs when  David  expresses in letters â personalized and everything  there are communications beyond text messages still! â what his adoptive family means to him. He wanted to assure his parents and extended family and friends that meeting his birth parents had nothing to do with finding his âtrueâ parents and everything with saying âThank you.â
âWith only two adoptions to every 100 abortions in the United States  and with the stigmas society still unfortunately shares about adoption  it is important to get this film out there â  David  tells me. âEven though I am adopted  I am no different than a biological child. Even though my parents are my âadoptiveâ parents  they are my mom and dad. My âbirthâ parents are exactly that: birth parents. Those distinctions are real and need to be shared.â