Historically, the process of adoption is one that has played out in a cloud of secrecy. The National Council for Adoption (NCA), one of the strongest advocates of confidentiality in the adoption process, has "long championed the important of confidentiality in adoption" and argues open adoptions "prove harmful to all those involved in the adoption cycle" (Weeks 6). Despite this staunch viewpoint, the "closed" condition of many adoptions has significantly begun to change to a more "open" process of adoption that has not wrought the harm predicted by the NCA. As Weeks (6) reports, "It is clear that the secrecy that has been the hallmark of adoption throughout its history is giving way to a new openness."
While research tracking the effects of open adoption is in its nascent phase, completed research is showing evidence of "substantial benefits" of open adoption on children, birth mothers and birth families, and adoptive parents compared to closed adoptions (Weeks 6). Despite some risks associated with open adoption (where degrees of openness vary), there is increasing evidence that open adoption offers a more positive and beneficial process for all stakeholders involved than the traditional closed adoption process.
In the past three decades, numerous changes in society have been reflected in significant change in the adoption population. Postponed childbearing, two-career couples, increased participation by women in the labor force, and rising incidence of infertility have led to an increase in the number of couples and individuals seeking to adopt children (Berry 125). At the same time, birth control and abortion practices and increased acceptance of single motherhood have led to a significant decrease in the number of healthy infants available for adoption (Berry 125). In tandem with these changes in adoption population, shifts in adoption practice have also occurred. According to Berry (125), "one of ...