Utah legislators exploring tweaks to adoption laws criticized as exploitative
Agencies accused of rushing adoptions before mothers can change their minds
“I think it’s very important that our local community and the state of Utah cares about how these adoptions are happening and what that’s going to look like,” Mitchell said. “Because at the end of the day it’s, ‘Did we walk alongside them in our own state, whether they stayed here or not?’ And I think that matters.”
“….Mitchell said adoption is the right choice for some, and the group’s goal isn’t to change anyone’s mind. But she said it’s important that the women who come here to give birth make their decision with all the information.
“I believe that adoption should exist,” she said in an interview outside the apartment complex. “I believe that if it feels right for the women, that they absolutely should make those choices. But they need to know what they’re signing. They have the right to understand the long-term consequences of those choices, because adoption really is for life….”
“The professionals that fly the women here 100 percent count on them not knowing what's available to them.” - Ashley Mitchell, Utah Adoption Rights
As more states limit or ban access to abortion, some are beginning to push adoption as an alternative for women facing unplanned pregnancies. But when do laws go from accommodating to exploitative? From the Center for Investigative Reporting, Julia Lurie examines the consequences in one of the most adoption-friendly states in the country.
