The head of the largest evangelical adoption agency in the U.S. is hopeful the nation once recognized as a global leader in international orphan care will reprioritize its commitment to vulnerable children.
Herbie Newell, president and executive director of Birmingham-based Lifeline Children’s Services, said in a January editorial that “the [Trump] administration has the opportunity to champion a bold and pro-family vision for [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services].”
Newell is calling on President Donald Trump and recently confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “simplify and streamline” adoption and foster care processes in the U.S. and to “rebuild America’s leadership in intercountry adoption.” Newell also urges support for allowing faith-based organizations to maintain their values while helping vulnerable children and families.
‘Devastating statistic’
Once a leader in international adoptions, the U.S. has seen a significant drop in the number of foreign-born children adopted by American families in recent decades. In 2008, about 8,200 international adoptions were completed, and by 2023, there were around 1,200, Newell said.
“This devastating statistic demonstrates that thousands of children are left without the hope of a permanent and loving home,” he added.
In an interview with TAB Media Group, Newell noted there are 300 waiting children in China who were in the process of being adopted by U.S. parents before China abruptly ended international adoptions in September 2024. Newell said 62 of those children have been matched with families through Lifeline, and those families would be ready to travel immediately if the two countries agreed on a solution.
These children “need the president or someone to call for them to come home,” Newell said. “To an extent, any new administration brings an opportunity, and any opportunity brings hope. That hope starts to wane the further we get into the administration.”
As Lifeline lobbies U.S. officials to intercede with Chinese leaders and allow the adoptions to be completed, Newell urges believers to speak out by calling U.S. representatives in Congress and other leaders to advocate for these families. He also urged prayer that “God will soften the hearts” of the two nations’ leaders.
‘Biblical issue’
“We know this is a biblical issue, and our churches need to hear that caring for orphans, vulnerable women and widows is a biblical issue,” Newell said.
“The call to care was a call to the Church, not to the government,” Newell said. “We need to be doing what the Church is called to do, regardless of what the government does.”
“When the Church starts to be the brightest in our homes and in the homes around us, that’s when the light of Christ shines brightest,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who is in the White House. The truth of the matter is no one can take the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ away from the Church.”
Check related headlines:
FIRST-PERSON: Reclaiming America’s leadership in global child welfare -Baptist Press
China adoptions eyed anew by Lifeline Children’s Services in Trump term -Baptist Press
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