"I Found Out My Mother Was a Killer": The Rebecca Babcock Story - 3 - The Bigger Picture - Your Life - MSN Lifestyle

Congratulations to Rebecca for realizing it's not where you come from, but who you become. Wishing all the love & success that you can get.

I've mistaken my destiny

But the truth is my legacy

Its not up to my genes

True, though the imprint is deep in me

It will always be up to me

Up to me

Shilo Wallace Repo! the genetic Opera. Remember you can change!

Wow! What a story! They should have executed Diane Downs. She is a child murderer, and has nothing to contribute to society except a tax burden. What a horrible woman she was, and still is. She should have told Rebecca who her biological father was, but she obviously doesn't have a shred of goodness in her soul. God will punish Diane Downs!

While I find it commendable that Rebecca has gotten her life together, I find it a little too easy for her to blame her poor earlier choices in life on the fact that she has Diane Downs "blood in her veins". Had she never known the true identity of her birth mother, would she have still made those choices? Her older adopted sister did the same things as Rebecca did and did not carry Downs blood in her veins. Rebecca made poor decisions as a teenage girl, which many girls her age do. Using the excuse that she "came from the belly of a monster" is not helping her to accept responsibility for her own actions. She has to realize that just because Downs gave birth to her, does not make that the reason she used drugs, drank alcohol or had promiscuous sex. I'm glad she has it together now and wish her nothing but the best, but please, let's not let our sympathy for her birth situation excuse or explain her own bad behavior. She was not raised by Downs, didn't even know who she was until she was 16 and then had the attitude of, "Oh well, I come from bad blood, so I may as well act like it". Part of being a grown up is to admit your failings and accept responsibility for your own actions. Hopefully, Rebecca will understand this so she can have a really good life now.

MinneasotaMomma, I was thinking the same thing.

I read this article and it brought back bad memories of my childhood and teenage years. I had a "mother" that left a lot to be desired. (According to today's standards, I would have been taken from her due to physical and mental abuse.) Sometimes good people are born to bad parents. It is up to the individual to rise above their curcumstnces and believe me, it a difficult thing to do but it can be done! I had children at an early age too and because of that I was determined to live a better life and to provide a better life for my children. I now have two degrees (BA MA) from two private univerisities and my children are doing well also. Life give us all some ups and downs but when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade out of it.

I was also adopted, but do not know anything about my birth mother. I have quite a lot in common with my mom though(adoptive or, as I call her, my REAL mom) I don't think genetics have that much to do with things, unless you are truly mentally ill. Nurture is most of it. Blaming genetics for all the bad things you've done is a cop out. No one is perfect, we've all done bad things when we were younger, but not because of who our biological parents are!

I can't even imagine the horror this woman went through finding out who exactly her biological uterus was, but that's not who she is, and she really needs to get that through her head. If she had never found out who her biological mother was, does she really think she'd be that different from who she basically is as a person today? I truly think not.

I do wish her all the best, as the psychological part of just realizing who gave birth to you is hard to take, but...always remember, YOU decide who you are, and not anyone else. And that's the way it is for all of us, adopted, or not. Look at people who have been severely abused as children and they've overcome it, and turned out to be wonderful people, the same wonderful people they always were inside.