Gretchen Sisson

What happened was the supply of infants was very low. And that's when you see the increase in international adoption really take off through the 90s, peaked in 2004, and then fell pretty quickly. you saw white families adopting children of color in a meaningful number. And today you see pretty high demand for any healthy babies.

And I think that that has also allowed the targeting of more black and brown American women for domestic adoption as well, which is what we're seeing in Texas now.

And I think that that has also allowed the targeting of more black and brown American women for domestic adoption as well, which is what we're seeing in Texas now.

And I think that that has also allowed the targeting of more black and brown American women for domestic adoption as well, which is what we're seeing in Texas now.

This is a state-funded campaign, right? This campaign, the Modern Adoption Campaign, came directly out of Texas' publicly funded Alternatives to Abortion program. This is what they're going to offer people in lieu of abortion access, is they're going to tell them that adoption is this really empowering option. that's intentionally targeted to black and brown communities.

This is a state-funded campaign, right? This campaign, the Modern Adoption Campaign, came directly out of Texas' publicly funded Alternatives to Abortion program. This is what they're going to offer people in lieu of abortion access, is they're going to tell them that adoption is this really empowering option. that's intentionally targeted to black and brown communities.

This is a state-funded campaign, right? This campaign, the Modern Adoption Campaign, came directly out of Texas' publicly funded Alternatives to Abortion program. This is what they're going to offer people in lieu of abortion access, is they're going to tell them that adoption is this really empowering option. that's intentionally targeted to black and brown communities.

Texas has decided to put millions of dollars into this public-private partnership to sell the idea of adoption to people who are facing crisis pregnancies.

Texas has decided to put millions of dollars into this public-private partnership to sell the idea of adoption to people who are facing crisis pregnancies.

Texas has decided to put millions of dollars into this public-private partnership to sell the idea of adoption to people who are facing crisis pregnancies.

None of what I argue, when I'm critical of adoption, none of what I am suggesting is that we should be imposing parenthood on people who don't want it, that we don't need more people to love and care about children in our society, or that every person is equipped to raise every child to whom they give birth at every point in their lives.

None of what I argue, when I'm critical of adoption, none of what I am suggesting is that we should be imposing parenthood on people who don't want it, that we don't need more people to love and care about children in our society, or that every person is equipped to raise every child to whom they give birth at every point in their lives.

None of what I argue, when I'm critical of adoption, none of what I am suggesting is that we should be imposing parenthood on people who don't want it, that we don't need more people to love and care about children in our society, or that every person is equipped to raise every child to whom they give birth at every point in their lives.

You know, one of the stories that I include in my book is a mother who dealt with postpartum psychosis. She'd raised three other children. You know, she knew that she could successfully parent. She would be the first to say that she wasn't a safe parent for that baby at that time. She didn't have her own interpersonal support network.

You know, one of the stories that I include in my book is a mother who dealt with postpartum psychosis. She'd raised three other children. You know, she knew that she could successfully parent. She would be the first to say that she wasn't a safe parent for that baby at that time. She didn't have her own interpersonal support network.

You know, one of the stories that I include in my book is a mother who dealt with postpartum psychosis. She'd raised three other children. You know, she knew that she could successfully parent. She would be the first to say that she wasn't a safe parent for that baby at that time. She didn't have her own interpersonal support network.

She didn't trust the foster care system, particularly as a Black woman. She was worried that she'd lose custody of all of her children if she relied on that as a way of caring for her baby while she got the psychiatric support that she needed. And she ended up relinquishing the baby for private adoption. She permanently ended their relationship when...

She didn't trust the foster care system, particularly as a Black woman. She was worried that she'd lose custody of all of her children if she relied on that as a way of caring for her baby while she got the psychiatric support that she needed. And she ended up relinquishing the baby for private adoption. She permanently ended their relationship when...

She didn't trust the foster care system, particularly as a Black woman. She was worried that she'd lose custody of all of her children if she relied on that as a way of caring for her baby while she got the psychiatric support that she needed. And she ended up relinquishing the baby for private adoption. She permanently ended their relationship when...

there are myriad temporary solutions that could have kept their legal relationship intact, right? And I start with that story because it is really uncomfortable. I mean, she talked about these intrusive thoughts of harming the baby, right? This is not a person that you want caring for this child on her own at this point in time. But there wasn't a type of crisis care, that there wasn't a way of