Jim Bob And Michelle Duggar Have Adoption Plans, But Are They Still Trying For 20th Biological Child?
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar reportedly want to adopt, but has the couple given up on having that golden 20th biological child that they’ve wanted for so many years?
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have brought up adoption many times in the past, but it sounds like they’re really starting to get serious about expanding their brood of 19 by adding a non-biological child to the mix. According to the print edition of Life & Style magazine, a source close to Duggar family recently revealed that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are hoping to get the adoption process started next year.
“They’ve been mulling it over for a long time, and they feel the time is right to get legal advice and get the process underway,” the source said, according to Radar Online. “They’re looking to adopt a child in the New Year.”
If Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar do decide to go through with the adoption, this could be a sign that the 50-year-old patriarch and 49-year-old matriarch of the Duggar family have finally given up on their dream of having a 20th biological child. However, just a few months ago, the couple revealed that Michelle Duggar was still trying to get pregnant. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Jim Bob over-shared about his baby-making efforts during a February charity event at Grace Polaris Church in Columbus, Ohio. Christian comedian Anita Renfroe asked Michelle Duggar if her uterus was retired, and Michelle revealed that she would love to have more children.
In the video below, Jim Bob chimes in by informing Anita Renfroe that he and Michelle are still trying for a 20th child. He also performs a PG rap song called “In the Motherhood” with the comedian.
During a 2014 episode of 19 Kids and Counting, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar visited a fertility doctor to see if Michelle was still able to “catch a baby.” She was informed that pregnancies at her age are “very unusual,” and that there’s a 1 in 4 chance that she would have a baby with Down syndrome if she were to fall pregnant.
According to Today, Michelle actually got pregnant with her 20th child in 2011, but she suffered a miscarriage at 19 weeks. Shortly after she announced that she was pregnant with No. 20, NBC’s chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, expressed her concern that Michelle’s uterus couldn’t handle another pregnancy not only because of her age, but also because of how many times she had already given birth. Snyderman said Michelle’s uterus is probably “like a water balloon that has no tensile strength.”
Michelle Duggar suffered from preeclampsia when she was pregnant with her 19th child, Josie Duggar, and the little girl had to be delivered three-and-a-half months early. The risk of developing preeclampsia in future pregnancies increases after a mother experiences it, so Michelle Duggar would be putting her own health and that of her baby at risk if she were to get pregnant again.
“Seeing all those sweet little baby items definitely makes me miss having a baby in the house,” Michelle revealed. “And Jim Bob and I have really been praying about the possibility of adoption.”
During a 2013 interview with People, Michelle Duggar revealed that a few of her kids are fans of the adoption idea because they believe that their family should share some of their blessings with children in need. However, Michelle and her husband just aren’t sure that God wants them to adopt.
“When he gives us a child [through pregnancy], there is no doubt in our minds that is what He wants, but when it comes to adoption, we would have to know for sure that was His will,” Michelle said.
Because the Duggars have been so reluctant to adopt in the past, their motives for adopting a child now are being questioned. Radar Online suggests that Jim Bob and Michelle may simply be trying to “clean up the family’s image, and take focus away from Josh’s sick, sad behaviors.”
Josh Duggar became a hot tabloid topic after it was discovered that he had sexually molested four of his sisters and cheated on his wife. He’s the only adult member of the Duggar family who has not appeared on the new TLC special, Jill & Jessa: Counting On, but, because his family keeps talking about him, he has played a larger role on the three-part special than Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. The parents have only appeared milling around in the background on Jill & Jessa: Counting On, and the Life & Style source suggests that the “desperate” former reality show stars may adopt a baby simply to “stay in the spotlight.”
Do you think Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar will actually adopt a child?
[Image via Duggar Family/Facebook]
