Gretchen Sisson
@gretchensisson.bsky.social
Sociologist at ANSIRH/UCSF; founder of Abortion Bridge Collaborative Fund; author of 'RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption & the Privilege of American Motherhood.'
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
January 4, 2026 at 8:48 PM
No. No. No.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy.
Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
First mothers need support, not baby boxes. I discussed this on Al Jazeera. Real support = housing, healthcare, childcare, help & community. When we invest in mothers, we invest in keeping families together. #FamilyPreservation #FirstMothers #adoption @gretchensisson.bsky.social #AlJazeera 🥚
December 20, 2025 at 7:53 PM
First mothers need support, not baby boxes. I discussed this on Al Jazeera. Real support = housing, healthcare, childcare, help & community. When we invest in mothers, we invest in keeping families together. #FamilyPreservation #FirstMothers #adoption @gretchensisson.bsky.social #AlJazeera 🥚
Many things can be true.
This policy is racist.
*And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.
This policy is racist.
*And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.
The US Administration has banned Americans from *adopting babies* from much of the African continent.
Adopting.
Babies.
What trait do those babies have that, when they grow up as fully American adults, would make them a threat to our country in any form?
Adopting.
Babies.
What trait do those babies have that, when they grow up as fully American adults, would make them a threat to our country in any form?
On that last post: I genuinely cannot think of any good-faith reason to bar international adoptions from those 39 countries. Under this new ban, consulates will refuse adoption visas for any baby from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Nigeria, or any of the 39 other countries.
December 19, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Many things can be true.
This policy is racist.
*And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.
This policy is racist.
*And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.
I can, but they’re probably not the same as the Trump Administration’s reasons.
On that last post: I genuinely cannot think of any good-faith reason to bar international adoptions from those 39 countries. Under this new ban, consulates will refuse adoption visas for any baby from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Nigeria, or any of the 39 other countries.
December 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I can, but they’re probably not the same as the Trump Administration’s reasons.
Glad to be included in this conversation with “Liberty Lost”’s @tjraphael.bsky.social from the Concerned United Birthparent conference. I believe this is the first mainstream critical coverage of the adoption tax credit — an important step in the conversation to align our investment with our values.
December 17, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Glad to be included in this conversation with “Liberty Lost”’s @tjraphael.bsky.social from the Concerned United Birthparent conference. I believe this is the first mainstream critical coverage of the adoption tax credit — an important step in the conversation to align our investment with our values.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
I used to make a podcast called ACCESS, and there are a few episodes that continue to get a steady stream of downloads even though they're years old. My episode about adoption, which included an interview with @gretchensisson.bsky.social, is one! Small snippet here: www.instagram.com/p/ChsfdetD6Gt/
December 15, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I used to make a podcast called ACCESS, and there are a few episodes that continue to get a steady stream of downloads even though they're years old. My episode about adoption, which included an interview with @gretchensisson.bsky.social, is one! Small snippet here: www.instagram.com/p/ChsfdetD6Gt/
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
Sign up for an annual subscription to @autonomynews.co and get a signed copy of @gretchensisson.bsky.social’s excellent book!
We have an exciting offer thanks to researcher, author, and Autonomy News subscriber @gretchensisson.bsky.social: Sign up for a new annual subscription before December 31 and you will receive a free, signed copy of Gretchen’s book Relinquished, as long as supplies last!
Autonomy News
A worker-owned reproductive rights and justice publication.
www.autonomynews.co
December 8, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Sign up for an annual subscription to @autonomynews.co and get a signed copy of @gretchensisson.bsky.social’s excellent book!
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
there are a lot of good adoption books (and a lot of really bad ones) but i want to take a second during #NAAM to recommend “Relinquished” by @gretchensisson.bsky.social. mandatory reading if you want to have any kind of informed conversation about adoption in 2025. 🥚
Keep thinking about this part of Relinquished (Gretchen Sisson). 🥚
November 7, 2025 at 2:26 PM
there are a lot of good adoption books (and a lot of really bad ones) but i want to take a second during #NAAM to recommend “Relinquished” by @gretchensisson.bsky.social. mandatory reading if you want to have any kind of informed conversation about adoption in 2025. 🥚
Pleased to share this guest post on ‘Abortion, Every Day’ discussing modern day maternity homes. These homes function differently from pre-Roe homes, but ultimately serve the same regressive aims — with familiar coercive means.
Thanks @jessicavalenti.bsky.social!
open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...
Thanks @jessicavalenti.bsky.social!
open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...
The Once and Future Maternity Home
An Abortion, Every Day guest column
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Pleased to share this guest post on ‘Abortion, Every Day’ discussing modern day maternity homes. These homes function differently from pre-Roe homes, but ultimately serve the same regressive aims — with familiar coercive means.
Thanks @jessicavalenti.bsky.social!
open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...
Thanks @jessicavalenti.bsky.social!
open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
Featured story: “The whole system is premised on commodifying human beings, regardless of whether or not it’s a for-profit or a nonprofit agency. And anytime you’re talking about people as a commodity, I don’t know what that looks like to do ethically.”
The Adoption Trap
Private foster care and adoption agencies in Texas are brokering contracts for moms to turn over their children in a murky legal world, spawning protracted civil custody battles.
www.texasobserver.org
July 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Featured story: “The whole system is premised on commodifying human beings, regardless of whether or not it’s a for-profit or a nonprofit agency. And anytime you’re talking about people as a commodity, I don’t know what that looks like to do ethically.”
I’ve you haven’t had a chance to listen to “Liberty Lost,” now’s the time.
July 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
I’ve you haven’t had a chance to listen to “Liberty Lost,” now’s the time.
I have done a deeply mediocre job of connecting with folks here after leaving X (ok, that’s generous), and am having a hard time easily plugging in to the folks I was connected to there. Did that include you? Please say hi so I can get my footing here a little more easily.
July 16, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I have done a deeply mediocre job of connecting with folks here after leaving X (ok, that’s generous), and am having a hard time easily plugging in to the folks I was connected to there. Did that include you? Please say hi so I can get my footing here a little more easily.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
So glad to be part of this. Please come, please donate, please support. 🥚🍉 form.jotform.com/251837268680...
July 10, 2025 at 2:23 AM
So glad to be part of this. Please come, please donate, please support. 🥚🍉 form.jotform.com/251837268680...
People on the replies being like “this is trafficking, not adoption” you are *so close.*
Abbi’s story on Liberty Lost is powerful and disturbing and I’m so glad it’s being told. But it’s not unique to just her or even to Liberty — this is the system.
Abbi’s story on Liberty Lost is powerful and disturbing and I’m so glad it’s being told. But it’s not unique to just her or even to Liberty — this is the system.
My face when I heard that Liberty University offered full ride scholarships to underage teen moms for *decades* contingent on them being shipped off to a maternity home and giving their newborns up to University-approved couples who happened to be big alumni donors:
a man wearing a watch is covering his mouth with his hand
Alt: Miss Jay clutching himself lest the evil of that story reach him.
media.tenor.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:13 PM
People on the replies being like “this is trafficking, not adoption” you are *so close.*
Abbi’s story on Liberty Lost is powerful and disturbing and I’m so glad it’s being told. But it’s not unique to just her or even to Liberty — this is the system.
Abbi’s story on Liberty Lost is powerful and disturbing and I’m so glad it’s being told. But it’s not unique to just her or even to Liberty — this is the system.
I am often asked: what about gay people who want to adopt? I actually think it’s really important to push back on this question, and any question that centers prospective adoptive parents. Adoption isn’t — or at least shouldn’t be — about sourcing babies for people who want them.
June 25, 2025 at 9:00 PM
I am often asked: what about gay people who want to adopt? I actually think it’s really important to push back on this question, and any question that centers prospective adoptive parents. Adoption isn’t — or at least shouldn’t be — about sourcing babies for people who want them.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
A very belated congratulations to Gretchen Sisson for her powerful & revelatory book RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, an immaculately researched book about appalling levels inequality, cruelty, entitlement masquerading as the right to motherhood.
An incredible honor to be in this company. Thank you to the National Book Critics Circle.
We're excited to announce the longlist for the 2024 NBCC Award for Nonfiction! Congratulations to all of the nominees. www.bookcritics.org/2024/12/18/2...
May 8, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A very belated congratulations to Gretchen Sisson for her powerful & revelatory book RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, an immaculately researched book about appalling levels inequality, cruelty, entitlement masquerading as the right to motherhood.
Looking forward to this conversation with @cameronrussell.bsky.social on May 27. If you’re in the Boston area, please join us — and spread the word!
May 2, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Looking forward to this conversation with @cameronrussell.bsky.social on May 27. If you’re in the Boston area, please join us — and spread the word!
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
this is so difficult, because some of my all-time favorite books were published over the last three years. but the book i wish everyone would read, because of the perspective shift it can and does bring about, is this one: @gretchensisson.bsky.social ‘s RELINQUISHED.
March 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
this is so difficult, because some of my all-time favorite books were published over the last three years. but the book i wish everyone would read, because of the perspective shift it can and does bring about, is this one: @gretchensisson.bsky.social ‘s RELINQUISHED.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
Our panel included @sarahreinhardt.bsky.social (co- host), @thesusanito.bsky.social @gretchensisson.bsky.social @monicahallauthor.bsky.social, Kristal Parke, Greg Gentry and Chris Williams. Adoptees sharing, educating and connecting in California! www.adoptionthemakingofme.com
March 11, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Our panel included @sarahreinhardt.bsky.social (co- host), @thesusanito.bsky.social @gretchensisson.bsky.social @monicahallauthor.bsky.social, Kristal Parke, Greg Gentry and Chris Williams. Adoptees sharing, educating and connecting in California! www.adoptionthemakingofme.com
I'm partnering with fellow authors @renee.bsky.social @thesweetfeminist.bsky.social and Sabia Wade to support All-Options, an incredible organization that provides meaningful, free, unbiased options counseling for the repro movements. Donate for books (& candy!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
March 3, 2025 at 11:36 PM
I'm partnering with fellow authors @renee.bsky.social @thesweetfeminist.bsky.social and Sabia Wade to support All-Options, an incredible organization that provides meaningful, free, unbiased options counseling for the repro movements. Donate for books (& candy!)
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
New White House Faith Office will be promoting faith-based foster care and adoption programs.
February 8, 2025 at 4:13 AM
New White House Faith Office will be promoting faith-based foster care and adoption programs.
When you search on the modified CDC website for "abortion," the results suggest searching for "adoption" as well.
If this search suggestion is new, this is obviously deeply disturbing and reveals a lot about how this administration thinks about reproductive autonomy and pregnancy decision making.
If this search suggestion is new, this is obviously deeply disturbing and reveals a lot about how this administration thinks about reproductive autonomy and pregnancy decision making.
February 8, 2025 at 12:31 AM
When you search on the modified CDC website for "abortion," the results suggest searching for "adoption" as well.
If this search suggestion is new, this is obviously deeply disturbing and reveals a lot about how this administration thinks about reproductive autonomy and pregnancy decision making.
If this search suggestion is new, this is obviously deeply disturbing and reveals a lot about how this administration thinks about reproductive autonomy and pregnancy decision making.
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
hey if you want to hear @gretchensisson.bsky.social talk about the adoption movie plenty of birth parents (and plenty of adoptees including me) absolutely *hate*, check this out! 🥚
"Juno": Adoption Politics and Teen Pregnancy Tropes (Rom-Com Vom)
Sex Ed with DB: smart, science-backed sex education · Episode
open.spotify.com
February 5, 2025 at 10:11 PM
hey if you want to hear @gretchensisson.bsky.social talk about the adoption movie plenty of birth parents (and plenty of adoptees including me) absolutely *hate*, check this out! 🥚
Reposted by Gretchen Sisson
💙⛅THE SUN WON'T COME OUT TOMORROW⛅💙 is out TODAY and I am thrilled and honored by this perceptive review in @washingtonpost.com by @gretchensisson.bsky.social wapo.st/3PLsDjG (gift link)
Review | An author separates the fiction of orphanhood from the reality
In “The Sun Won’t Come Out Tomorrow,” Kristen Martin shows that orphanhood is neither a trope nor a metaphor.
wapo.st
January 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
💙⛅THE SUN WON'T COME OUT TOMORROW⛅💙 is out TODAY and I am thrilled and honored by this perceptive review in @washingtonpost.com by @gretchensisson.bsky.social wapo.st/3PLsDjG (gift link)