The last half of the 20th century has seen a radical change in the way in which human beings in the United States manage their fertility. While most people throughout human history, and even today, have been at the mercy of the fates in regard to fertility, that is no longer the case.
Fertility management extends in two different directions. For those who do not wish to have children, birth control and abortion technologies are now extremely effective and relatively safe. On the other hand, for those who are infertile for some reason, but wish to have children, reproductive technologies are more advanced. For those who cannot successfully have their own children, there is surrogacy. In addition, there remains the option of adoption. Unlike birth control and reproductive technologies, however, adoption has become less accessible and less of an open process. There are a number of issues that narrow the choices of potential adoptive parents during the contemporary era.
Harris (1988) noted, for example, that the supply of adoptable babies has diminished over time and that it is no longer adequate to meet the demand of potential parents. In particular, the supply of desirable babies, i.e., those without health problems, young, and generally Caucasian, has diminished, while the supply of babies with various sorts of problems has remained constant or increased.
At the same time, there is a large supply of infertile couples. According to Hirschman (1991), approximately one of six married couples in the United States is now infertile, unable to conceive a child within one year's time. This large group is increasingly willing, and able, to try anything to obtain a child, using every possible reproductive technology. As Hirschman noted, this is a large and often emotionally desperate market for babies.
In the following pages, the focus is on exploring the issue of the developing baby market for adoptive parents. The inte...