Your question at the end of your beautiful essay haunts me, "are we approaching a similar time in the Southern U.S.A.?" I believe we are but folks don't understand or know what is was like in "The Baby Scoop Era" so they have a hard time believing this can/will happen again in the U.S. Stories like yours and books like "The Girls Who Went Away" which discuss what happened to women during that time need to be shared more broadly.
Thanks, Doreen. I think these laws and practices of forcing pregnancies are inhumane, at least, if not more aggressive and anti-woman as in B.S.E. The adoption industry promoters may be surprised to see the "market" for infants flooded with those "not up to their standard" or "unadoptable". as could be in cases of rape and incest, and pregnancies of minors. How do they see these harsh laws and practices as humane and ethical, I wonder. Commodification of infants.
It is a trauma to be separated from one's mother, no matter the circumstance. I honor your process of learning your beginnings, the homes, the arms that held you as you imagine them. I hope that this Mother's Day brings you peace and a way home to the Mother who embraces us all.
Alan, thank you. State laws that deny adoptees equal access to our birth records are gradually changing as awareness that adoptee rights are human rights grows. Thanks again!
I have a young friend who was adopted and although she was raised by a loving, caring family, she struggles with the idea of her birth mother giving her away. It eats at her sense of self worth, even though she understands that her adoption was the best possible outcome, yet the sense of abandonment is sometimes overwhelming for her.
Your question at the end of your beautiful essay haunts me, "are we approaching a similar time in the Southern U.S.A.?" I believe we are but folks don't understand or know what is was like in "The Baby Scoop Era" so they have a hard time believing this can/will happen again in the U.S. Stories like yours and books like "The Girls Who Went Away" which discuss what happened to women during that time need to be shared more broadly.
Thanks, Doreen. I think these laws and practices of forcing pregnancies are inhumane, at least, if not more aggressive and anti-woman as in B.S.E. The adoption industry promoters may be surprised to see the "market" for infants flooded with those "not up to their standard" or "unadoptable". as could be in cases of rape and incest, and pregnancies of minors. How do they see these harsh laws and practices as humane and ethical, I wonder. Commodification of infants.
I totally agree!
It is a trauma to be separated from one's mother, no matter the circumstance. I honor your process of learning your beginnings, the homes, the arms that held you as you imagine them. I hope that this Mother's Day brings you peace and a way home to the Mother who embraces us all.
Thank you, Kate! I appreciate you.
Alan, thank you. State laws that deny adoptees equal access to our birth records are gradually changing as awareness that adoptee rights are human rights grows. Thanks again!
I have a young friend who was adopted and although she was raised by a loving, caring family, she struggles with the idea of her birth mother giving her away. It eats at her sense of self worth, even though she understands that her adoption was the best possible outcome, yet the sense of abandonment is sometimes overwhelming for her.
Thanks so much for for sharing. I hope your friend will find peace and comfort in the community of adoptees and allies who understand.
Yes, unwanted pregnancies carried to term feeds the corrupt adoption industry. Thanks so much, Alan.