Abstract
Most people would agree that adoption is a good thing for children in need of a family. Yet adoption is often considered a second-best or even last resort for parents in making their families. Against this assumption, I explore the unique value of adoption for prospective parents. I discuss the value of adoption for all prospective parents, regardless of whether they use assisted reproductive technologies, and reflect specifically on non-relative, non-procreative adoptions. First, adoption can meet the important need that a child has for a family, whereas procreation creates rather than meets needs. Second, adoption provides a morally noble opportunity to extend to a stranger benefits usually withheld for one's genetic kin. As such, adoption offers a unique possibility in which impartial concern for an other can be the starting point for a lifetime of love and care. Finally, adoptions can have transformative power over adoptive parents’ conception of family and self.
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