Author Topic: Game Show Baby (Read 450 times)

ravells · « **on:** April 29, 2004, 11:24:49 AM »

I saw the article below. Is giving away babies in a Game Show legal in the US? Do the parents who wish to adopt need to go through some sort of vetting procedure by the State?

Ravs

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A GIRL of 16 displays her baby son as five couples battle to adopt him in a reality TV "contest" that has shocked the US.

The mum, called Jessica, decides who gets the child after each couple argues why they would be the best parents.

She said: "Basically, I play God." US TV station ABC defended the show, called Be My Baby and hosted by Barbara Walters, as a serious look at adoption. But even those involved in the production, which goes on on air tomorrow, damned it as a cheap "game".

"Contestant" Steve Strasser said: "I hate to think about it this way. It's marketing." Jessica's mother, Beth Anne, said: "You don't want to goof it up. It involves a baby's life."

Jennifer Marando - who runs an adoption agency in Akron, Ohio, which participated in the show - said: "It's been made an entertainment piece."

ABC said: "People are getting the wrong impression. This is a thoughtful report."

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Regular · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2004, 11:28:05 AM »

Any pics of the girl?

ravells · « **Reply #2 on:** April 29, 2004, 11:39:15 AM »

Yes.... here

Ravs

Regular · « **Reply #3 on:** April 29, 2004, 11:46:22 AM »

Guess I would tag it. Maybe.

Westy · « **Reply #4 on:** April 29, 2004, 11:48:21 AM »

Huh? Bastidges waltzed right past the good part - a reality/game show series called "Who'll put "the bun" in'er oven?"

WTF is the matter with American tv these days. Cripes.

Boroda · « **Reply #5 on:** April 29, 2004, 12:25:00 PM »

I bet 90% of the people who'll want to participate in such a "show" don't care about the baby, and just want their stupid faces to be shown on TV...

gofaster · « **Reply #6 on:** April 29, 2004, 12:25:24 PM »

Quote

A 16-year-old mother, known only as Jessica, will listen to the 'pitches' of five couples desperate for a baby.

She will then decide which one gets to keep her child. 'I basically decide if they're going to have children or not,' she said. 'I kind of play God.'

Jessica was eight months' pregnant when filming began. She says she wanted to keep the child but her parents told her it would be too hard.

WTF is this? Sure, she's 16, but its her baby, her decision. Parents should respect and support her decision (and its a doozy of a decision).

I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to keep the child after all is said and done.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the piece is yanked because of the controversy. Personally, I think the angle will be that its simply a third-person report of the process child-less families go through in adopting, but in this instance the mother is being given the ultimate vote and that's what makes this so much more controversial than the formal process of evaluation by committee.

Now, there's another angle to this that nobody has mentioned, and that is that the baby is white. Its no mystery that healthy white babies are the Golden Egg in the adoption nest. The waiting list for a black baby is much, much shorter and has a lot less demand. So would there be as much competition if the "prize" were a black, Hispanic, or Oriental baby? Is this show really a statement of how hard it is to adopt, or is it a camoflaged statement of class disparity?

Then again, this is an ABC "news report", not UPN or BET.

Westy · « **Reply #7 on:** April 29, 2004, 01:08:33 PM »

Is this stuff geared towards "class?" Absolutely - as in cheap thrills for those who lack it. Not as in "racial" imo.

This latest example of prime-time idiocy reminded me of a real life, trash-class circus that was in the news round here last year. While not as seriously warped as "prizing off" a baby I think these shows are "art" imitating life.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/relationships/articles/2003/08/18/and_then_there_were_10_marriage_derby_heats_up?mode=PF

DiabloTX · « **Reply #8 on:** April 29, 2004, 03:55:11 PM »

rpm · « **Reply #9 on:** April 29, 2004, 04:00:23 PM »

I saw a quick clip of this last night on TV and almost threw up. They have these couples doing Survivor and Fear Factor type stunts and the winners get the baby. I used to have a tiny sliver of respect left for Barbara Walters credibility, but even that is gone now.

Maniac · « **Reply #10 on:** April 29, 2004, 04:25:10 PM »

Quote

They have these couples doing Survivor and Fear Factor type stunts and the winners get the baby.

OMG! Say that your joking...

CyranoAH · « **Reply #11 on:** April 29, 2004, 04:56:15 PM »

Is this for real??

stratman · « **Reply #12 on:** April 29, 2004, 11:48:47 PM »

Sounds like a very assinine thing.
Hey lets use my baby borne out of wedlock as a prize in a game show.

Child protective services should step in and relieve theses idiots of the poor child.
And put it up for a REAL adoption.
God how sickening.

DiabloTX · « **Reply #13 on:** April 30, 2004, 05:48:13 AM »

"Hey mommy! I found a way to get us rich and famous! Can I do it too? Gee, thanks mommy!!!"

gofaster · « **Reply #14 on:** April 30, 2004, 09:49:39 AM »

edit: Looks like it comes on tonight.

I was out shopping for water-park compliant shorts for a weekend trip to Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon and will be leaving before the show comes on. Woo-hoo!

Piece of advice for those who go to water parks - regulations forbid any shorts with rivets, snaps, or exposed metal (including the metal donuts around wax pocket drain holes and tie-string holes).