The Dark History of Adoption in the U.S.

Although open adoption is the norm today in the U.S., mothers and children looking to reunite from the Baby Scoop Era of the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s need a lot of luck and, often, changes in state law. Adoption agencies during this time went to great lengths to prevent any contact between adopted children and their birth mothers–who had often been coerced into giving up their babies. Journalist Gabrielle Glaser’s new book “American Baby” tells the story of the Baby Scoop Era through the lens of one teenaged mother and her son. (Segment produced by Martha Harris)