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Mrs. Clinton: There are several pieces of legislation that I have supported. One of them began the process of eliminating the prohibition that many states had used against adopting across racial lines. I also support giving some tax relief to people who adopt.
TIME: When did the two of you start considering adopting?
Mrs. Clinton: Well, "considering" may be too strong. I think "talking about" it...We have, off and on, for a long time.
TIME: Are you talking about it more now?
Mrs. Clinton: Yeah, I think we're talking about it more now. We'd obviously wait to get serious about it until after the election. There's just too much going on in our lives right now. I just think that giving a child a chance and sharing what you have with a child is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, as well as a child. So I hope that something will come of our thinking about it.
TIME: Might you do a cross-racial adoption?
Mrs. Clinton: We haven't gone into that kind of detail.
TIME: What do you think of the proposals for building more orphanages and group homes?
Mrs. Clinton: I think there are situations that, both involuntarily and voluntarily, could be appropriate for the placement of children in well-run and carefully staffed orphanages. But I think it's a very difficult issue.
TIME: You've been more forceful than some people in arguing for severing parental rights in certain cases, right?
Mrs. Clinton: Yes. I have seen a lot of situations in which families have abdicated their responsibilities to their children. At some point a child's rights deserve careful attention, and some parents do not deserve continued authority over their children. I know there's a lot of debate about this, and I was criticized during the '92 campaign for my 1973 article about children's rights, but anyone who has dealt with abuse knows that at some point you've got to make a very tough decision.
TIME: What do you feel about the Republican push for what is known as "parental rights"?
Mrs. Clinton: The current [Republican] legislation would create a right for individual parents to make decisions that would affect not only their own child but other children as well. I believe there should be parental opt-outs if you don't want your child attending a certain health class, say, about sex education. But I don't think that gives parents who object to it on behalf of their own children the right to prohibit other parents who think it is in line with their values for their children to be given such information. Or that parents who on religious grounds oppose the teaching of evolution should have the right to deny their child the access to information about evolution so the child can make his or her own decision.
TIME: Regarding the debate over welfare reform and the Wisconsin plan that your husband and Bob Dole have endorsed, do you think it makes sense to force a single mother of a young child to go to work instead of staying home and taking care of the child?