Apr 20th, 2007
Unknown Donors and Open Adoption on “This American Life”
Two issues that I get lots of questions about.
This weekend, This American Life re-broadcasts a 2001 show, “The Missing Parents Bureau.” The first story is about mothers who use donors. No mention of sexual orientation, but the Park Slope apartment is a pretty good clue.
Keep in mind that this segment is from the mothers’ point of view, not the children’s point of view. The questions have to do with the extent to which the mothers are “comfortable” knowing information about their sperm donors. Never mind this decision is made on behalf of a child with a yet-to-be-discovered personality, with needs and wants that no parent can possibly predict. Even if expectant mothers don’t want the information, the decision shouldn’t be about what they want. I see no harm in leaving doors open so that kids can make the choice to find that information when they are adults.
The final segment of the same hour is by Dan Savage, who grapples with explaining the absence of his adopted son’s biological mother.