RESERVE A ROOM EARLY WITH THE IDEAL MATERNITY HOME.

World War I and an influenza outbreak were factors in the low birth rate which in turn increased the demand for adoptable children. However after World War II, a market niche for NEWBORNS developed in direct response to new psychological theories of inherited intelligence and the irreversible effects of early childrearing. The development of formula feeding — which allowed for the raising of infants without a ready supply of breast milk — was also a factor. 1 Agencies began to GUARANTEE 'perfect' children of sound heredity, without physical, emotional or mental defects to counter the social stigma surrounding illegitimacy, and the perceived links with depravity and 'bad blood'. 2

In the 1960's, to ensure the 'delivery of children of this caliber', infants were kept in STUDY HOMES for their first 6-12 months where their physical and mental health were closely observed before they received the stamp of approval: ADOPTABLE. 3

An aside: I was always disconcerted to find the following written in my own Social History : "She was found to be a normal, adoptable child." I was irked by this professional assessement of my worth.

The postwar demand for adoption soon exceeded the number of infants available for placement. Restrictive eligibility requirements were developed to help select prospective parents from among the numerous applications. This funneling effect resulted in the rise of independent and black market adoptions to cater to the refused couples . 5

The Ideal Maternity Home was an illegally run home for unwed mothers in East Chester, Nova Scotia, run by Lila and William Young. Many babies were sold on the black market to childless couples from New York and New Jersey in the 1930s and '40s. The east coast was a popular vacation spot for these Americans, many of whom were childless Jewish couples frustrated by the long waits for Jewish infant adoptions back in America. The Youngs catered to this need as they were willing to ‘disregard the UNBREAKABLE RULE’ of the era's placement agencies: that children must be placed with a family of the same religious background. 6

As both abortion and birth control were illegal in Canada at that time, the Ideal Maternity Home provided an option for many women willing to relinquish their children. Unfortunately, many children did not find homes. These infants were later called the BUTTERBOX BABIES ; babies who were left to starve on a diet of molasses and water, because they appeared to be UNMARKETABLE [sick, deformed, disabled, or of mixed race]. A caretaker later admitted that he was paid to bury the babies in open graves, or in butter boxes from the local LaHave Dairy. 8

The availibility of birth control and access to abortion for women, and the increase of single mothers has decreased the number of infants available for adoption today in North America. While there has been a rise in the adoption of children with special needs and older children who had been living in foster care, the demand for HWN [Healthy White Newborns] has steered couples towards International adoption, where the average wait for a baby is considerably shorter than the domestic adoption process. While it may save time, it also requires a considerable budget. A foreign adoption costs $12,000 to $30,000 US, depending on the circumstances, and yet a couple is virtually guaranteed a child. 9

Unethical or fraudulant adoption practices still persists, long after the Ideal Maternity home scandal. Black Market adoptions are perhaps enjoying a boom, in part to the networking possibilities of the Internet. Recently the British government, issued a warning by the Department of Health, to UK Internet service providers (ISPs) against carrying advertisements for illegal adoption agencies and services. The statement follows the controversy over the Internet adoption of two baby girls from the US by Alan and Judith Kilshaw, a married couple from North Wales. In that case, the couple had paid several thousand dollars to a US mother for the rights to adopt her twins: twins which had also been promised to two other couples. 11

In response to stories about barriers to adoption and the lack of children available for families to adopt locally, Heather Evans says that there are many children who want and need permanent homes in the province of Ontario alone; adding that it is provincial law which is standing in the way. Nearly half of the children in the care of the Children's Aid Society care are crown wards: children who are permanent wards of the state. These children have what are called ACCESS ORDERS attached to their wardship. That means that someone connected with their biological families — like their parents, grandparents or siblings — can have contact with them. There is not contact in all cases but it is a possibility. Ontario law states that anyone with access orders cannot be adopted. Thousands of children would be eligible for adoption in Ontario if these laws were changed. 12

However, it would demand the re-evaluation of the family unit — with the traditional one parent set — and would require considerable negotiations between the two parties over visitation rights. The parent/child relationship might grow to include shared guardianship instead of singular ownership.

Adoption is as old as the concept of family itself. Laws ensuring ethical practices in adoption will have to shift along with changing views of the family.