Archives for October 2023

The Effect of the Dobbs Decision on Adoptions

Did the Supreme Court Decision Affect Adoptions in the U.S.?

Many proponents of tighter abortion control argued that an increase in unwanted pregnancies would lead to more adoptions. More than a year after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, it remains unclear whether that is true and whether there have been negative impacts. New Jersey adoption lawyers note that there are many difficulties not only in assessing the data but also collecting it.

What the Case Was About

The Dobbs decision is a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. The decision overruled two notable other decisions: Roe v. Wade in 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. With this ruling, control over abortion returned to the states. Many states immediately enacted new laws restricting or prohibiting abortion, and some dormant laws once again became active.

New Jersey’s Response

Anticipating the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act into law in January 2021. This law provides women in the state a legal right to abortion.

No Requirement for Domestic Adoption Data

One of the great challenges in assessing how the Dobbs decision affected adoptions in the U.S.—including something as seemingly simple as determining whether the adoption rate is rising or falling—is that there is no requirement for states to report infant abortion data publicly or even aggregate it. That means that we need to rely on adoption agencies and other sources that choose to share their data. Another component that makes this difficult is estimating the number of women who choose to parent their children rather than give them up for adoption.

Depends Upon Who You Ask

The reality is that we may be years out from being able to look back on the available data and have a clear picture. Even in the states that have recently enacted stringent abortion laws, there has been great variance according to the National Council for Adoption. In Texas, for instance, where the laws are among the strictest, some agencies have reported an increase in adoptions as high as 30% while others in the area have reported little to no change. The Gladney Center for Adoption in Texas, which is one of the agencies to report a 30% increase, also stated that inquires by women about putting children up for adoption have increased by 55%.

The COVID Effect

New Jersey adoption lawyers and other observers warn that we must consider these numbers within the context of the pandemic. In 2019 and 2020, domestic adoptions fell 24% nationwide, so some increase in rates is expected regardless of the Dobbs decision.

Other Effects of the Decision

Twelve states now ban abortions as early as six weeks. That has resulted in a very small window in which women can make the choice between abortion and adoption. According to ACF Adoptions in Florida, the typical call to learn about adoption happened in the second trimester, but the agency is now receiving many more calls from women four and five weeks pregnant.

Another concern is whether more babies with medical challenges will be put up for adoption. Adoption experts fear that if the number increases by 25% or more, then there will not be enough families for these babies. Many are also concerned that predatory baby brokers will become more problematic as there will be more vulnerable women available for them to exploit.

Legal Assistance for Both Birth and Adoptive Parents

If you need legal assistance because you want to adopt or are considering putting a child up for adoption, the law firm of Cofsky & Zeidman would like to help. Donald C. Cofsky is a New Jersey adoption lawyer who has personally handled more than 1,500 adoption proceedings. To set up a consultation, contact us online or call us in Haddonfield at (856) 429-5005, in Woodbury at (856) 845-2555, or in Philadelphia at (215) 563-2150.

How Adoption Stigmas Have Changed Since the ’70s

The National Council for Adoption conducted a study in 2022 that compared adoption stigmatization over the years. In the 1970s, 70% of birth mothers who placed their children for adoption felt stigmatized in some way. That number went up to 90% in the 2010s.

Adoptions Have Changed

In many cases in the 1970s, no one was aware that the adoption took place at all. There was a higher prevalence of closed adoptions, and in those arrangements, adoptees don’t have access to the original birth records. As a result, relationships or contact between the birth family and the family who adopts usually didn’t happen at all. Such things were kept firmly separate by way of an agency, and the process was anonymized and mediated. Fortunately, these days, many people consult a New Jersey adoption attorney throughout the process so that all parties involved are on the same page.

Who Stigmatizes Adoption?

The National Council of Adoption survey found that most of the people who took part cited their own family members as one of the main sources of stigmatization. This included parents and other immediate family but also included extended family as well. Stigmatization could also come from their circle of friends and even people who work in healthcare. Yet another source of stigma comes from religious leaders and other members of the clergy.

But the question persists: What causes the stigma to begin with, and what causes this type of behavior in those who are supposed to help people? By some people’s reasoning, now that it is less of a stigma to have a child out of wedlock, there’s all the more reason to keep the child and not give them up for adoption.

The Women of Then and Now

There are far fewer teenage pregnancies than in the past on average. According to the study, in the 2010s, women were an average of 29 years old when they decided to place their child up for adoption.

Of these women, 60% were in a marriage, and over two-thirds of them held either a master’s or bachelor’s degree. This helps researchers rule out their age or education as determining factors for their decision to go with adoption. These women face stigma because people feel that if they are the same age as many of their peers who have children and they have an education that allows them to obtain gainful employment they should be committed to raising a child when they become pregnant.

In the past, many women had put their children up for adoption because they were young and unwed when they became pregnant or because they had no education and consequently no means by which to support a child on their own. As a result, it was deemed more understandable when a woman in these circumstances put her child up for adoption.

The Spence-Chapin Research Study on Adoption

The NORC, the University of Chicago’s research organization, came out with the Spence-Chapin Research Study on Adoption in December 2022. This study took a closer look at the mothers who used Spence-Chapin Adoption Services.

The study found that there are double standards at play, many of which are harmful and untrue. Among these are the idea that a mother must be at the peak of her career, have all her finances all in order, and be completely stable and free of work stress to raise a child.

Race Plays a Role

There are racial factors at play as well. Fifteen percent of white women said they hadn’t experienced any stigmatization for their decision to go with adoption. That number is down to 7% for black women who were posed with the same question.

Black women said they had to deal with less perceived judgment from clergy members. Unfortunately, there was an increase in the amount of stigmatization from friends, parents, and extended family members.

Contact Cofsky & Zeidman today at (856) 429-5005. Donald Cofsky is a New Jersey adoption attorney who will work with you without judgment when you make the decision that is best for you.

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