A conversation about adoption

This week Bev and Jonas talk with adoption expert Dr. Gretchen Sisson from UCSF about how relinquishment is not a simple alternative to abortion.

Last week we had a fantastic conversation with Dr. Gretchen Sisson from ANSIRH at UCSF. She is a sociologist and author of the book: Relinquished: the politics of adoptions and the privilege of American motherhood. Her research focuses the experience of birth mothers and helps us dispel some common myths about adoption, parenting, and abortion.

photo from https://www.gretchensisson.com

Gretchen’s book shares the findings from her work that includes over 100 interviews with birth mothers who had relinquished their children for adoption in the US. In her interview we dive into the epidemiology of adoption in the US. Approximately 19,000 children are relinquished in the US each year (this is a much higher rate than other well-resourced countries). We talked about how socioeconomic disparities impact the decision around relinquishment. Adoption has lifelong impacts on the lives and well-being of birth mothers and we discuss why adoption isn’t an alternative to abortion.

Our next episode will be the season finale for season 2, followed by a summer break! This season has been a blast and we continue to have amazing conversations with doctors, researchers, advocates and patients about the stories and science behind abortion care. While we take a break from releasing new episodes, we will continue to share content on substack and social media. If you’re not following us on instagram (@outlawed_the_podcast), you’re missing out on content like this…

Also, congrats to us for reaching 100K downloads! Celebration time!!

My kids always makes fun of me when I compliment myself on a delicious meal that I’ve prepared. I feel no shame complimenting ourselves on this major achievement! And for our most loyal listeners (i.e. you!) - you are part of the reason for this success. You’ve listened and spread the word about the podcast. We are incredibly grateful for your ongoing support!

Season 3 will get started in September with the start of the school year. We have some awesome guests and topics on tap. Stay tuned!

Want to make a tax-deductible donation to support our work and keep us ad-free? Link to donate here. 

Have an idea for a guest or a topic? Email us here: outlawedpodcast@gmail.com

For Outlawed merch: https://outlawedpodcast.com/merch/