Wilson Defends Proposal Encouraging Welfare Mothers to Weigh Adoption

Gov. Pete Wilson said Friday that he has no second thoughts about suggesting that unmarried mothers on welfare should consider giving up their children for adoption, stressing that he is referring only to voluntary adoptions.

Critics said Thursday that proposal unfairly targeted poor women, calling it “unconscionable” and “reprehensible.”

In a question-and-answer session with the Sacramento Press Club, Wilson told the group: “What I said was, if you are a teenage mother with no resources, you should be encouraged by a local caseworkers to think about it. . . . But always, it should be a voluntary decision. . . . Being a parent is an awesome responsibility.”

Wilson added that welfare mothers “really have a responsibility to a child and to taxpayers” and that giving up a child they don’t have the means to support might be best both for the child and for taxpayers.

Wilson stressed several times that he intended only completely voluntary adoptions when he said in his welfare and budget briefing that welfare recipients “should be offered every assistance in placing their children for adoption.”

In response to other questions, the governor ruled out seeking a third term as governor if courts overturn term limits because he believes “there is always a need for fresh blood and new ideas. I will not be a candidate for reelection, though I am tempted. I do confess that.”

He also defended his proposal to provide an extra $13 million for a coastal trail, more coastal access and other initiatives against charges that it is an insufficient effort to boost a poor environmental record. “I think my environmental record is very good, and $13 million is what we can afford, and is not an insignificant amount of money,” he said.