Dumped at Birth

After Roe: 2 Adoptees on Abortion


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In a candid convo, two adult Chinese adoptees, both born during China’s One Child Policy, dive into the modern realities of being adopted. In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, we’re tackling a topic head-on: why “choosing adoption” is not a simple solution to the abortion debate.


We’ll talk about: empathizing with our birth mothers, the One Child Policy, adoptee suicide rates, "adoption doulas," adoption rates before and after Roe v Wade, the politicization of adoption, and our honest experiences as adult adoptees. 


Content Warning: abortion, adoption, Roe v Wade, One Child Policy. We recognize all people with uteruses who are capable of becoming pregnant, but in this episode, due to the specific subject matter of our personal adoption experiences, we heavily utilize “mother” and “women” to contextualize these individuals. 

About the podcast: 

Produced by Leah Kelly-Reingold and Tayler Bunge

Co-created and hosted by Leah Kelly-Reingold and Tayler Bunge

Recording and editing by Tayler Bunge

Marketing and design by Leah Kelly-Reingold

Sound engineering support by Sebastian Torrelio 

Theme by The Blasting Company 

Instagram: @dumpedatbirth  

dumpedatbirthpod.com

Additional Resources:

  • https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/10/living-in-adoptions-emotional-aftermath - Emotional aftermath of adoption.
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/10/adopt-baby-cost-process-hard/620258/ - Challenges and costs of adoption.
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/05/why-more-women-dont-choose-adoption/589759/ - Reasons why women don't choose adoption.
  • https://bixbycenter.ucsf.edu/news/adoption-decisions-among-women-denied-abortion#:~:text=Of%20the%20231%20women%20in,chose%20to%20do%20so%20anyway - Adoption decisions of women denied abortion.
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/18/adoption-abortion-roe-dobbs/ - Adoption and abortion laws.
  • https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-20-fg-china-adopt20-story.html - Babies who were stolen in China to supply adoption demand.
  • https://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/15/ - Coercive practices re: China's intercountry adoption system.
  • https://www.vox.com/2021/12/8/22822854/abortion-roe-wade-adoption-supreme-court-barrett - Adoption not a replacement for abortion. https://youtu.be/gmehUgOy5ok - China's shrinking population - Vox.
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/04/skinfolk-book-matthew-pratt-guterl-adoption-racism/673096/ - Adoption and racism.
  • https://msmagazine.com/2022/06/02/adoption-abortion/ - Women who chose adoption support abortion rights.
  • https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2023/pregnant-people-united-states-seeking-abortion-do-not-see-adoption-alternative - Abortion preferred over adoption.
  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010782421003528 - Adoption research article.
  • https://www.npr.org/2021/12/14/1063784711/its-not-as-simple-as-abortion-v-adoption-just-ask-bri - Complexities of abortion and adoption.
  • https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/republicans/2022/3/down-syndrome-and-social-capital-assessing-the-costs-of-selective-abortion - Down Syndrome, abortion, and social capital.
  • https://2date4love.com/adoption-statistics/ - Adoption statistics.
  • https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/safehaven.pdf - Safe haven laws.
  • https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term-decline-us-abortions-reverses-showing-rising-need-abortion-supreme-court - Rising need for abortion.

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