this woman’s work

Many birthmothers historically have had little to no agency in the outcome of their pregnancies. The very notion that my aunts freely chose legal anonymity in the 1980’s is fairly ludicrous. Closed adoption was the only option- legally, socially and certainly within the context of my large Catholic family. Women like my aunts were rarely given the opportunity to acknowledge their pregnancies let alone acknowledge the impact of adoption on their lives.

Almost two decades after my aunts placed my cousins for adoption, I too faced the same social stigma as a young, pregnant teen, and I continue to shoulder the difficult stigma of birth-motherhood.

This is part of the testimony of an amazing woman who I have been fortunate enough to know. Please please go read the rest at Marley’s blog.

It’s been a rough emotional day for a lot of reasons but it’s good to know that there are so many amazing people on the planet and that I get to number some of them (all of you) as ones who make my small life better.