Search results for "birthmother"

– an excerpt from “The Intermediary System is Not the Solution,” a speech given by Margaret McDonald Lawrence to the American Adoption Congress in Washington D.C at the first National AAC Conference on May 4, 1979: “In order to bring the issues surrounding the intermediary system into clear focus, it is necessary to examine the […]

Origins Canada does not support “Birthmothers Day”, but supports the celebration of Mothers Day to honour all mothers. Origins Canada asserts that the existence of two separate social celebrations called “Mothers Day” and “Birthmothers Day” perpetuates the marginalization of mothers separated from their children by adoption and undermines their lived experience and recognition in Canadian society […]

This is a list of books focusing on various aspects of adoption.   Note:  A listing on this page does not necessarily imply that a particular book is being recommended. ADOPTION – GENERAL/HISTORY White Unwed Mother: The Adoption Mandate in Postwar Canada by Valerie J. Andrews, Demeter Press, Toronto, 2018. To purchase White Unwed Mother go […]

“The unmarried mother is often a living reproach to society.  People get rid of their guilt by condemning her.  In Canada, in contrast to other countries, “to put it mildly, there still remains a particularly hard core of Puritanism and old fashioned bourgeois morality”.  Unnamed Catholic Sister.  From “The One Parent Family” fifth in the […]

The Collective Consciousness of Society: Crimes Against the Unmarried Mother in Canada Post WWII After World War II  countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and the United States created adoption policies and practices which included illegal, unethical, and  human rights violations against unmarried mothers.  Although these practices continued until the late 1980s, the years […]

Adoption Experience 2012 October 18-20 Toronto, Canada Ann Fessler “A Girl Like Her” Ann showed her award winning film “A Girl Like Her” and took questions afterwards. DVD can be purchased: http://agirllikeher.com Peter Dodds “International Adoption” Peter exposed the truth about international adoption and related those facts to his personal experience as an adopted person […]

  These studies detail the long-term consequences to mothers after surrendering a baby for adoption.   Past Adoption Experiences: National Research Study on the Service Response to Past Adoption Practices (2012), Australia   The experiences of mothers who participated in this study would suggest that the long term effects of past adoption practices cannot be […]

LANGUAGE OF ADOPTION   “Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.”   Desmond Tutu Language can be discriminatory when we fail to consider the assumptions which inform the words we use. It expresses cultural norms and belief systems which are often so entrenched in language as to […]

In a PhD dissertation study by social worker Michael DeSimone (1994), 46.1% of mothers surveyed stated that the surrender of their child was “not at all” their decision, and 17.5% stated it was “a little.”  Only 23.7% stated that it was “considerably” or “completely” what they had wanted (p. 79), leaving a coercion rate of […]

There are a number of factors that may influence the possibility of a reunion taking place. Some of those factors also influence the intensity or character of adoption reunion experiences and relationships after reunion.  These are some of the factors that may influence reunion outcomes. Readiness of Both Parties If both mother and adopted adults […]