Sunday, May 07, 2006
What History Teaches us....
In 1972, just five years after my loss of my daughter to adoption, Olga Scarpetta relinquished a child for adoption and then reversed her decision within her legal time limit. This triggered the first widely publicized tug-of-war battle over a child known as Baby Lenore. The public hatred of this woman for having the “nerve” to “change her mind” was palpable. She was vilified and demonized. There was not a sympathetic word said about her. All sympathy was for the adoptive parents who violated court order after court order and finally left the state permanently with the child that was ordered to be given back to her NATURAL mother!
Being called Lenore’s natural mother – and not a birthmother – did nothing to help Scarpetta legally or in the court of public opinion where she was ripped to shreds and would have been tar and feathered or burnt at the stake if the public had been allowed to!
Women all over the world are exploited for their children in countries no matter what the language is for them, or whether they are called birthmother or not.
In the thirty plus years I have used the term, I have never heard anyone outside of a small group of mothers (mostly anti-adoption mothers in Exiled Mothers and OriginsUSA) make the birthmother/breeder connection. Those who think less of a woman who relinquishes a child to adoption do so no matter what she is called, as was done to Olga Scarpetta, and those who are kind people will not.
Sure words have an effect on attitude and policy. But those who are vehemently opposed to the word birthmother are unable to present a single shred of evidence to draw a connection - let alone a cause and effect - between the use of the term birthmother and the exploitation of women for their children which was occurring long before it was used. In fact the largest cohort of women to be pressured to relinquish all took place prior to the word coming into existence.
Loosing a child for adoption is painful. That pain causes anger. The challenge is to focus that anger on the real enemies, not to get hung up in an obsession about a name being the root of all evil. It's just not logical, and over simplistic, and wastes so much time and energy that could be directed at baby brokers and others who exploit women for their children, no matter what they are called.
Being called Lenore’s natural mother – and not a birthmother – did nothing to help Scarpetta legally or in the court of public opinion where she was ripped to shreds and would have been tar and feathered or burnt at the stake if the public had been allowed to!
Women all over the world are exploited for their children in countries no matter what the language is for them, or whether they are called birthmother or not.
In the thirty plus years I have used the term, I have never heard anyone outside of a small group of mothers (mostly anti-adoption mothers in Exiled Mothers and OriginsUSA) make the birthmother/breeder connection. Those who think less of a woman who relinquishes a child to adoption do so no matter what she is called, as was done to Olga Scarpetta, and those who are kind people will not.
Sure words have an effect on attitude and policy. But those who are vehemently opposed to the word birthmother are unable to present a single shred of evidence to draw a connection - let alone a cause and effect - between the use of the term birthmother and the exploitation of women for their children which was occurring long before it was used. In fact the largest cohort of women to be pressured to relinquish all took place prior to the word coming into existence.
Loosing a child for adoption is painful. That pain causes anger. The challenge is to focus that anger on the real enemies, not to get hung up in an obsession about a name being the root of all evil. It's just not logical, and over simplistic, and wastes so much time and energy that could be directed at baby brokers and others who exploit women for their children, no matter what they are called.
# posted by Senior Mom @ 3:10 PM 
Comments:
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what needs to be done is get the money out of adoption. as long as there is profit in transferring child custody, there will be those who will use unethical means to make a buck!
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