Gretchen Sisson on "Relinquished" and the politics of adoption

December 13, 2024 00:30:38
Gretchen Sisson on "Relinquished" and the politics of adoption
51 Percent
Gretchen Sisson on "Relinquished" and the politics of adoption

Dec 13 2024 | 00:30:38

/

Show Notes

On the latest 51%, we speak with sociologist Gretchen Sisson about her book Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood. Sisson studies the relationship between abortion and adoption in the U.S., and is part of a team of researchers for "The Turnaway Study" at the University of California, San Francisco. In Relinquished, Sisson compiles a decade's worth of interviews with women who gave their newborns up for adoption through a private adoption agency. In unpacking how some agencies pressure (and rely on) struggling moms to relinquish their children, Sisson pushes back on the idea that adoption is an ethical alternative to abortion, and questions whether it's really a choice at all.

Guest: Gretchen Sisson, sociologist with Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health at the University of California San Francisco, author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. 

 ------------

Other Episodes

Episode

October 30, 2020 00:27:28
Episode Cover

#1632: The Cat I Never Named – A True Story of Love, War, and Survival | 51%

On this week’s 51%, a genocide survivor tells her story that began in Bosnia and crossed into the U.S. Plus, a filmmaker explores new...

Listen

Episode 0

October 13, 2023 00:29:58
Episode Cover

#1786: Joy Farrow and Laura Frombach on “Defensive Living” | 51%

On this week’s 51%, we sit down with “defensive living” experts Joy Farrow and Laura Frombach to discuss modern ways women are protecting themselves...

Listen

Episode 0

December 02, 2022 00:29:02
Episode Cover

#1741: Ani DiFranco on “Living In Clip” | 51%

On this week’s 51%, we sit down with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her seminal live album Living...

Listen