Before Roe, children born to their unmarried white mothers were routinely removed from their homes

[MrScorpio]

It was called THE BABY SCOOP ERA.

The term Baby Scoop Era refers to the period starting after the end of World War II and ending in 1972, characterized by an increased rate of pre-marital pregnancies over the preceding period, along with a higher rate of newborn adoption. From approximately 1940 to 1970, it is estimated that up to 4 million mothers in the United States surrendered newborn babies to adoption; 2 million during the 1960s alone. Annual numbers for non-relative adoptions increased from an estimated 33,800 in 1951 to a peak of 89,200 in 1970, then quickly declined to an estimated 47,700 in 1975. (This does not include the number of infants adopted and raised by relatives.) In contrast, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that only 14,000 infants were "voluntarily" surrendered in 2003.

This period of history has been documented in scholarly books such as Wake Up Little Susie and Beggars and Choosers, both by historian Rickie Sollinger, and social histories such as The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler, a professor of photography at the Rhode Island School of Design who exhibited an art installation by the same title. It is also the theme of the documentary Gone To A Good Home by Film Australia.

Beginning in the 1940s and 1950s, illegitimacy began to be defined in terms of psychological deficits on the part of the mother. At the same time, a liberalization of sexual mores combined with restrictions on access to birth control led to an increase in premarital pregnancies. The dominant psychological and social work view was that the large majority of unmarried mothers were better off being separated by adoption from their newborn babies. According to Mandell (2007), "In most cases, adoption was presented to the mothers as the only option and little or no effort was made to help the mothers keep and raise the children."

Solinger (2000) defines the change that occurred during this period that differentiated it from preceding times:

"Black single mothers were expected to keep their babies as most unwed mothers, black and white, had done throughout American history. Unmarried white mothers, for the first time in American history, were expected to put their babies up for adoption."

Solinger also describes the social pressures that led to this unusual trend:
"For white girls and women illegitimately pregnant in the pre-Roe era, the main chance for attaining home and marriage... rested on the aspect of their rehabilitation that required relinquishment... More than 80 percent of white unwed mothers in maternity homes came to this decision... acting in effect as breeders for white, adoptive parents, for whom they supplied up to nearly 90 percent of all nonrelative infants by the mid-1960s... Unwed mothers were defined by psychological theory as not-mothers... As long as these females had no control over their reproductive lives, they were subject to the will and the ideology of those who watched over them. And the will, veiled though it often was, called for unwed mothers to acknowledge their shame and guilt, repent, and rededicate themselves."

According to Ellison:
From 1960-70, 27 percent of all births to married women between the ages of 15 and 29 were conceived premaritally. Yet the etiology of single, white, middle-class women's conceptions had shifted again and were now perceived as symptoms of female neurosis ... the majority (85-95 percent) of single, white, middle-class women, who either could not or would not procure an illegal or therapeutic abortion, were encouraged, and at times coerced, to adopt-away their child (Edwards, 1993; McAdoo, 1992; Pannor et al., 1979; Solinger, 1992, 1993).

In popular usage, Singer Celeste Billhartz uses the term on her website to refer to the era covered by her work "The Mothers Project." A letter on Senator Bill Finch's website uses the term as well. Writer Betty Mandell references the term in her article "Adoption". The term was also used in a 2004 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"She and many others opposed to adoption gave birth to children who were later adopted in what some call the "baby scoop era" - a period generally after World War II and before Roe versus Wade in 1973 - when unmarried mothers were shunned by society and maternity homes were in vogue .

End of the Baby Scoop Era

Infant adoptions began declining in the early 1970s, a decline often attributed to the court case Roe v. Wade, but which also partially resulted from social changes that enabled white middle-class mothers to choose single motherhood. Brozinsky (1994) speaks of the decline in newborn adoptions as reflecting a freedom of choice embraced by youth and the women's movement of the 1960s-1970s, resulting in an increase in the number of unmarried mothers who kept their babies as opposed to surrendering them. "In 1970, approximately 80% of the infants born to single mothers were placed for adoption, whereas by 1983 that figure had dropped to only 4%."

In contrast to numbers in the 1960s and 1970s, from 1989 to 1995 less than 1% of children born to never-married women were surrendered for adoption.

The rest :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_scoop_era

I was thinking, that had I'd been born white to my unmarried mother in 1961, this could have happened to me.

BTW, has anyone ever bought up this period in our history to the anti-abortion crowd?

[Brickbat]

1. So sad.

And a reminder that "freedom to choose" also means freedom to bear and keep one's child.

[BlueIris]

26. +1.

In an age when anti-choice misogynists also come in (pseudo) liberal constume, it's sad that someone has to point that out, but glad you did.

[joeybee12]

2. Very interesting...thanks for posting...n/t

[CoffeeCat]

3. I was born in 1964 and adopted...

...and articles like this leave me wondering. So many adoptees are
told that their biological mothers "wanted to do what was best" and "wanted
you to have the best life"--and these stories always propagate the notion that
birth mothers were making the decisions and always in control of their destiny.

It appears that this is, for the most part, fairy tale.

[ourbluenation]

6. read my post...#5

[mediaman007]

4. It should be obvious that the anti-choice people will find another

issue to keep their movement together. The politicos behind this movement have to keep the movement going, hence the piecemeal attacks at Roe. This keeps the minions activated. This movement will never be satisfied. If these people were ever to consider other issues, they might support social justice issues relating to education and poverty. Can't have that! (sarcasm)

[ourbluenation]

5. I was a scoop baby...

My birthmom, who I've known now for almost a decade, said that looking back she made the right decision and I have no hard feelings towards her for her honest view. Even though I am strongly pro-choice, I wish adoption was a more viable option for women facing an unwanted pregnancy. The reason I was adopted was because my parents couldn't conceive. Couples like that go through so much heartache and would give anything to raise a baby for a those who can't.

[tallahasseedem]

14. That is an amazing story!

Adoption in this country has become so complicated that many couples/singles turn to China.

[gkhouston]

27. My husband and one of his siblings are (unrelated) children from that era.

Their adoptive parents believed they were infertile until about a year after the second child was adopted. Their youngest child is biological.

[slackmaster]

7. There was also the "shotgun marriage" option

I know several people who were born less than nine months after their parents got married.

[MrScorpio]

8. At least they got to stay with their families nt

[metalbot]

9. What if you rephrased your statement a different way?

To think "If I'd been born white to my unmarried mother in 1961, this could have happened to me" without thinking "If I'd been conceived to a white unmarried woman after Roe v Wade, I might not be here!"

I don't see how you would "bring this up" to the anti-abortion crowd without them saying "Duh, we WANT adoption rather than abortion..."

[MrScorpio]

11. My mother CHOSE to have me and keep me

I think that my presence here is enough to trust her judgement.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. Hey, Scorpio, allow me to say something that's an indisputable fact.

If you search the post above in active threads, you'll see all but 2 are in the Guns forum.

Make of that what you will. Remember, not every e-mail that contains the word "Viagra" is spam.

[Cleita]

10. I lived through that era during my child bearing years and I knew women

who were not even allowed to look at or hold their baby after birth. The child was taken away and she never saw them. I knew women who had given up their babies who still cried about it years later. The hurt never went away. I never got pregnant but I could have been one of them.

[malaise]

37. And more than a few of those babies

went to orphanages where those so called priests and nuns were waiting to abuse them.
Truth will out - it always seeps out eventually.

[BlueIris]

12. Depressing as hell.

I knew of the phenomenon, but didn't know it had a name. Baby Scoop Era. God.

These parts really stick out to me:

"More than 80 percent of white unwed mothers in maternity homes...acting in effect as breeders for white, adoptive parents, supplied up to nearly 90 percent of all nonrelative infants by the mid-1960s...

In 1970, approximately 80% of the infants born to single mothers were placed for adoption, whereas by 1983 that figure had dropped to only 4%...

In contrast to numbers in the 1960s and 1970s, from 1989 to 1995 less than 1% of children born to never-married women were surrendered for adoption."

[CTyankee]

24. At the same time, hospitals in the day saw a majority of their ER usage

by women who had had a botched, unsafe, illegal abortion.

Having a baby and seeing it given away vs. bleeding to death in the ER. Some choices women had then!

[NashVegas]

13. I Have a Hard Time With Blanket Condemnation

Some of what went on was awful. I recently read Patti Smith's memoir and in one chapter she writes about her experiences as an unwed mother-to-be. Her worst descriptions are of the hospital staff where she gave birth; the nurses were wretched.

That said, I believe this was largely the result of what happened when the unintended consequences of Margaret Sanger's birth-control activism - and the sexual "revolution" it ushered in - met with capitalism. By capitalism I mean not only the individuals and organizations that stepped in to separate the explosion of unwed mothers from their children, for profit, but also those individuals and businesses that jumped in as advocates of "sexual freedom" for their own financial gains.

[blogslut]

15. Thank you

I had my child, out-of-wedlock, post-Roe. It was the most important and best choice I ever made.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

16. In 1975 (very personal)

I gave up a baby for adoption from a home for unwed mothers. It was a very large building with loads of rooms - most empty. At any one time there were about maybe 20-25 of us.

We were fed, had top-notch medical care, and sometimes outings. We all had jobs we had to do, and counseling.

I do remember the counseling truly consisted of the constant reminder that we were doing the right thing. If you voiced a consideration of perhaps changing your mind, you got extra counseling sessions PLUS you were notified how much you would have to pay for the room and board, doctor's care, etc., before they would let you have your baby.

I'm older now, and know they could not have held my baby until I paid their fee, but I was 17 then, and totally believed it.

There was an R.N. on call and she freely dispensed sleeping pills if we told her we couldn't sleep. Placidyls. Heavy duty.

The word "abandoning" was in the document we had to sign, which I resented. I wasn't just laying a baby on a corner, damn it. I was obediant and did as I was told, because I believed, as they so constantly told me, I was doing the right thing.

I've never forgotten that baby boy.

[BlueIris]

19. ((((( iwillalwayswonderwhy )))))

Thank you for sharing your story here.

[Gormy Cuss]

29. I know far too many women who have similar stories.

It was truly a time when society pressured white women to believe that only a two parent family was appropriate for raising children. I don't know anyone who went to a home for unwed mothers and came home with a baby, so the pressure/indoctrination must have been pretty strong.

At least with the opening of adoption records around the country some mothers (and fathers) may eventually see their children or at least learn of their outcome. I hope that for you too.

[Warpy]

17. In the 50s and into the 60s, if anyone found out a woman was pregnant

she was ejected from school or thrown out of her job immediately. It didn't matter if she was single or married. There was absolutely no support out there for single women who wanted to keep their children, either jobs available to them or day care arrangements with often scandalized friends and relatives. Everybody just wanted the whole thing to go away and nobody consulted the woman about what she wanted for her child. If she hadn't managed to coerce the man into a shotgun marriage, she was considered unfit to raise the child she was risking her life to produce.

My own school days were marked by girls who left to stay with an aunt and appeared the next year, sad and a grade behind, instructed not to talk about what had happened to them.

I also remembered seeing the Florence Crittenton girls around, their eyes dead and hope on hold until their babies were born, let out for an ice cream soda at a drug store counter once a month or so, their shame hidden away the rest of the time.

This is what the antiabortionists want to return us to, the whole, brutal, rotten system.

Never again.

[MrScorpio]

18. Never again, indeed nt

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

20. Yep, that's pretty much how I remember it

I was working part-time after school and remember getting called into my boss' office and given a pamphlet for the home I went to. I was pretty much told I would lose my job, but they were willing to pay my transportation (700 miles on a greyhound bus) to the home.

I didn't tell my parents until the day before I left.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. The shaming was intense, and the young mothers were regarded as sluts

I was living in Oregon when the state opened its adoption records, and there were several older women in my apartment building who had coffee together each morning.

They were horrified at the decision to open the adoption records. Why, no woman would want it known that she had had an illegitimate child! What if her husband found out! He would divorce her immediately! Her friends would ostracize her!

My response was that any husband or friend who acted that way toward someone they'd known for years was not worthy of the label of "husband" or "friend," but these women were unconvinced.

[Mopar151]

23. I'm afraid that they would call it "the golden age" n/t

[BlueIris]

25. Yeah, no kidding.

For the official record, I never engage with anti-choicers. It is pointless. They are a hopeless lot.

[Mari333]

28. my cousin, back in the 50s, got pregnant at 16

she was vilified by my strict catholic relatives. I was a little kid, but I remember well the whispers and cruel statements made to her.

she was in a corner, crying.

one of the guys from her high school married her to make sure she was a 'decent' woman.

the baby was born mentally challenged, and she was told it was 'her punishment'.

she is a really angry older woman now, and I would be , too, if I were her.

her son still lives with her.

back then, you were treated like shit if you got pregnant.

[jonathon]

30. I have been meaning to read more about this subject - thanks for the post!

:)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

31. I had a friend who had a baby in about 1964.

I did not know her until the early 80s. She kept her son in spite of the pressure. The kid's father was a famous violinist, last student of Jascha Heifetz, but she never filed for child support on him. He lived in NYC.
By the time I met her and her high school aged son, he was screaming at her saying, "I wish you'd given me up for adoption so I could have rich parents!".

Don't know what happened since then. I admired her for not caving into the pressure.

[GeorgeGist]

32. Before Roe ...

D and Cs very quite popular with Republicans.

[Thothmes]

34. any documented support for that statement

[RainDog]

33. great post

and the racism inherent in this past is repulsive.

[NNN0LHI]

35. Looking back I can remember seeing a lot of hospitals for unwed mothers during that time period

Never gave it much thought back then.

Don

[REP]

36. Adoption is the third rail; mentioning that there might be problems brings wrath

Adoption is rarely about the needs of the child; it's usually about the wants of the adoptive parents and the agency making money off the adoption. There are exceptions, of course, but relinquishments usually rely on some degree of coercion and the babies of younger, poorer women going to wealthier, older ones - and a lot of cash changing hands.

Look up the Butter Box Babies for one horrifying "home."

[MattBaggins]

38. Brought it up to the anti-abortion crowd? Are you kidding?

The Crisis Pregnancy group yearns for those good old days and operate in the same manner. They want to bring those days back and are actually doing it.

[nonconformist]

39. I was born to a single mother in 1973.

She kept me. She has told me that she never even considered giving me up for adoption, and that her own mother and grandmother (they all lived together) wouldn't have stood for it anyway. There were people in the extended family that suggested it, though, and even a few that offered to adopt me. My mother was only 18 and looked about 14, so she went through a lot.

On the flip side, I have a friend born in 1972 to a single mother who did give her up for adoption. She was living in another state away from her family and never told them about the pregnancy and birth until she broke down and told them when the time limit (6 months, I think) was almost up. Her family insisted they'd help her raise the baby, so they immediately stopped the adoption and went to get her.

[BlueIris]

40. Kick. For those who missed it yesterday. nt