CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — “Be real careful Margaret,” Becca Redus told her daughter as she grabs onto a swing in her backyard.
Margaret is just one of Redus’ 6 kids. Her two oldest children are her biological children, and she has adopted her other four.
She started fostering kids in 2017.
“Not necessarily to adopt, but just to be able to be a safe place for children in need,” she said.
Redus said the Supreme Court’s decision to let the states decide whether to allow women to have abortions could mean more births in Texas, if Texas bans abortion.
She said that could mean more kids in the foster care system.
She’s worried there won’t be enough parents to foster kids.
“We need families to start training now, especially those families that are in support of the SCOTUS decision. It’s your moment to step up and say 'Absolutely, now’s my moment to say that I’m going to put action to the stance that I’ve had,'” Redus said.
Redus said families often foster kids to adopt them, but said more mothers need to be supported.
“We need more families who say 'I want to step in for these babies while their moms and dads get the help that they need,'” she said.
She’s encouraging more families to adopt kids in the foster care system.
She said the system isn’t perfect, but kids need to be supported.
In September 2021, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services received about 71,000 calls.
In May 2022, that number went down to about 70,500.
At the Ark Assessment Center & Emergency Center for Youth — a facility for neglected and abused children — Sister Milagros Tormo is the facility’s board president and a pro-life advocate.
Tormo said they currently have 19 kids staying at their facility, but added they can take up to 61.
She said if Texas bans abortions, she’s expecting to see more kids at the Ark.
They’re always preparing for more kids, regardless.
“The people that cannot afford to have the child, be sure that they go and look for agencies that can help them to put the child in a safe place, so they can feel in their conscience also good that I have my child where somebody’s going to take care,” Tormo said.
