Reproductive Justice in Adoption
First/birth parents, formerly-fostered people, and adopted people working to dramatically increase bodily autonomy and self-determination for pregnant people considering adoption.
The multi-billion-dollar, largely anti-abortion and religiously-affiliated adoption industry is rife with misinformation, disinformation, and the exploitation and coercion of pregnant people.
Meanwhile, adoption agencies, marketers, and “matchmaking services” spend up to tens of thousands of dollars per day on internet ads to find vulnerable pregnant people in service of a starkly outsized and competitive market demand for adoptable babies.
We asked pregnant people considering adoption what they needed:
Accurate, comprehensive, and trauma-informed information from a known, accessible, and reliable source who won’t judge or pressure them
Material support - CASH, housing, food, baby supplies, child care
Access to trustworthy people with lived experience
Social support to ease the overwhelm and navigate the process
Adoption-knowledgeable mental health support
Legal advocates focused on protecting their rights and needs, not those of the prospective adoptive family or adoption professionals
Based on interviews conducted between January and April 2025. Participants included people who were pregnant and considering adoption at the time of the interview and people who had considered adoption and relinquished a child in the last five years.
Reducing Harm While Building the World We Want to See
In 2022-2023, RJIA pitched and created a new “Considering Adoption” section for Planned Parenthood’s national website, setting a new national standard for adoption information with the most recognized name in reproductive health.
RJiA is Building a Groundbreaking Digital Hub for Information, Resources, and Support.
After partnering with our fiscal sponsor, Elephant Circle, in 2024 and completing an in-depth research and co-design process, RJiA is building a groundbreaking digital hub for comprehensive and trauma-informed information, options counseling, peer support, and community-based resources for pregnant people considering adoption.
Help us make this vital resource a reality!
Contact Us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!