The Baby Market: The Case for Adoption Reform

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A passionate and revealing examination of the unethical processes taking place within the U.S adoption system today.

Written by the director of an adoption agency and the author of The Children Money Can Buy, The Baby Market illustrates the dramatic changes that have taken place in infant adoption over the past two decades, resulting in what feels like a wild west of adoption in which money is the might that makes right and the law is very hard to find. The book follows the true stories of women who choose adoption for their babies, some of them making this choice multiple times. There are also stories from adoptive parents who relate their experiences with scams, disappointments, emotional and financial exploitation, and the dubious assistance of baby brokers. The process of adopting a baby involves struggle, uncertainty, and even heartache but, for many people, somehow manages to end happily when birth and adoptive parents create connections that respectfully and even joyfully meet their need for one another. The Baby Market provides welcome encouragement and much needed information about how to avoid the numerous pitfalls inherent in adoption and offers suggestions for the reform of a corrupted adoption system.

Reviews

As an adoption agency director and counselor for more than 40 years and an adoptive parent herself, Moody attempts to open eyes to the abuses within the system. This books case studies profile the often heart-wrenching stories of parents who find themselves desperate to adopt yet struggle to find reliable information. Agencies often have good intentions, Moody believes, although many are insufficiently skilled and some are even unscrupulous. Filled with personal accounts and packed with information, the book advocates finding an experienced adoption counselor, openly voicing complaints to help reform the system, and fighting for the establishment of national laws to close the gray market for adoption. Many parents will likely find this to be a helpful resource. Advocates for children will find plenty of ideas and guidance. * Library Journal *
Annes book is a must read. With infertility on the rise around the world, we as a society are being forced to ask (and answer) some big ethical questions. Annes book does an excellent job of presenting some of the moral dilemmas we face in addition to exposing so many of the deeply rooted misperceptions that exist around adoption. -- Erin Quick, Adoptive Parent and CEO/Founder of PairTree
Anne Moody's The Baby Market is a passionate and revealing examination of the American adoption system. Moody, an adoption counselor and agency director for almost forty years, and an adoptive parent herself, offers us an insider's look into an appallingly broken network, as well as ways to fix it. Her book is essential reading for anyone hoping to create a just and corruption free process for all members of the adoption triangle; birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children. -- David Guterson, Author of Snow Falling on Cedars and The Final Case
With empathy, passion, and scrupulous logic, Anne Moody has drawn from her decades of facilitating adoptions to denounce a system that defies regulation and reform. Mountains of cash are turning American adoption into a heartbreaking, unethical, and inequitable mutation. She tells true stories of adoptions in which honest brokers did not stand a chance against scams, incompetents, and all-too-proficient profiteers who leave middle class parents no recourse but to spend their savings to compete in a top-heavy market on adoptions that may never come to pass.The Baby Market is an indictment not only of the adoption system but Americas subordinating childrens welfare to the marketplace. Moody not only provides a guide for prospective parents but solutions to the inequities that victimize everyone involved. -- Andrew Ward, Author of The Slaves' War
Anne Moody has a great depth of experience in the adoption field, and brings that to bear in the The Baby Market in a way that should be of great value to readers. Her book is critical and essential reading for anyone whose work touches on adoption, as well as for anyone considering adoption. -- Anna Quinn, Author of The Night Child and Angeline
This well stated piece about the current state of adoption practice is recommended reading for families exploring their options. -- Rita L. Bender, Attorney
Informed by deep experience and written with great clarity and compassion, The Baby Market delivers a unique insider's perspective on whats wrong with the adoption industry today. An important new addition to understanding the vital need for adoption reform. -- Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers

Author Bio

Anne Moody has been the co-director of an agency specializing in infant adoption for the past 24 years. She is the author of The Children Money Can Buy: Stories from the Frontlines of Foster Care and Adoption, published in 2018 by Rowman and Littlefield. She is also an adoptive parent and both her professional and personal background inform her work as an adoption specialist who advises clients on all aspects of the adoption experience.