The Adoption Option: By The Numbers

The Adoption Option: By The Numbers

By Erin Maguire, The Bulletin
Published: Monday, February 02, 2009
Whether the decline of documented American births in the 1970s is directly related to the legalization of abortion in 1973 is not proven, but statistically, it is known that domestic adoption decreased dramatically after the court decision of Roe v. Wade. According to the Children’s Bureau and the National Center for Social Statistics, in 1970, 175,000 mothers relinquished their infants to be adopted. In 1975, only 129,000 mothers made the same decision. The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) documents that 22,000 women choose adoption for their children today, but many more children in foster care and overseas are in need of adoptive families.

Through statistical analysis and interviews with NCFA, Bethany Christian Services and adoptive parents The Bulletin analyzed changes in domestic adoption over the years as well as how adoption impacts society.  Trends in inter-country adoption were also studied. This first part in a series on adoption reveals shifts in the industry by statistics.

Unrelated Domestic Infant Adoption Halved After Roe v. Wade

The United States federal government collected data on the annual number of domestic infant adoptions from 1951 through 1975 only.  Why federal collection of such data was discontinued after 1975 is unknown; phone calls to the U.S. Department of State and local pro-life leaders were fruitless. Domestic adoption statistics are still kept by state, however, and the NCFA is the only organization that continues to tabulate national numbers.
Marc Zappala, assistant director of research for NCFA, released to The Bulletin the organization’s statistics on domestic adoptions and helped elucidate related topics.

From 1951, in which 72,000 domestic infant adoptions occurred, to 1970, when that number reached 175,000, there was a consistent rise in the number of domestic infant adoptions. From 1970 to 1975, there was a sharp drop, however, from 175,000 to 129,000.

“Interestingly, the decline occurs entirely among unrelated domestic infant adoptions, which fell from 89,200 in 1970 to 47,700 in 1975,” Mr. Zappala said. “Related domestic adoptions seemed to hit a plateau during this period.”

After the sudden decline of domestic infant adoptions in the 1970s, the numbers have ranged from 20,000 to 25,000 since.

“I haven’t seen any studies exploring what has caused this drop, but most discussions I have seen attribute it to changing social attitudes about single motherhood and the legalization of abortion,” Mr. Zappala said. “As NCFA does not take a stance on abortion, I am particularly reluctant to attribute the drop to Roe v. Wade without hard evidence, lest any statement I make be taken out of context.  I will note, however, that the state of New York – one of the most populous in the union – legalized abortion up to 24 weeks after conception in 1970.”

Adoptions, Abortions And Live Births Since 1973

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, previously Planned Parenthood’s research arm, there were 744,600 abortions in 1973. Abortions peaked in 1990 at 1,608,600 and reached 1,206,20 from 2006 to 2007. Before 1973, most abortions were not tabulated, as they were not legalized until Roe v. Wade.

The U.S. Census documents that there were 3,137,000 reported births in 1973, the lowest number since 1945 when there were 2,858,000 births. From 1900 to 2001, births peaked in 1957 at 4.3 million and rolled between the 3.4 million and 4 million per year since 1946. Since 1973, there have been no significant declines in the number of births; in 2001, over 4 million births were reported.

Single Mother Increase Potentially Decreases Number of Adoptions

In addition to the possible link between abortion and the decrease of domestic infant adoptions, other societal changes, like the acceptability of single parenting, are potential reasons for adoption decline.

According to Philadelphia-based National Adoption Council, in the 1970’s “there were fewer healthy … babies to place in homes because of better birth control methods, more liberal abortion laws, and greater acceptance by society of single women and men keeping and raising children.” While the organization’s “History” publication made a direct link between abortion and the decease in adoption, Gloria S. Hochman, director of communications, said the council did not want to be labeled as “pro-life.”

Mr. Zappala noted that the number of single mothers has “skyrocketed in recent decades, though it’s important to note that a good portion of this increase has been fueled by a spike in the number of births to cohabiting couples who later marry.”

For instance, in 1982, 13.8 percent of all births in the United States were to unmarried women not cohabiting, and 5.6 percent were to unmarried women cohabiting.  In 1994, the numbers climbed to 19.9 percent of births were to unmarried women not cohabiting, and 12.7 percent were to unmarried women who were cohabiting. By 2001, 16.1 percent of American births were to unmarried women not cohabiting, and 17.4 percent were to unmarried women who were cohabiting, totaling 33.5 percent of all births.

Children Steadily Entering Foster Care System

Besides the rise in single mothers, the number of children in the foster care system has also increased since the 1970’s. The National Adoption Center, reports that more than 500,000 American children live in foster care, of which 115,000 are available for adoption. More than 20,000 children are in foster care in Pennsylvania, including 1400 waiting to be adopted.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau reports more conservatively that the number of children in the foster care system has stayed at around 300,000 each year from 1998 to 2006.  Estimates are not yet available for 2007 or 2008.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act required states to report adoptions out of the foster care system to the federal government in 1998.  That year, approximately 31,000 children were adopted out of foster care.  This number rose to a little over 51,000 in 2001, and has remained at around 50,000 since.

While the Children’s Bureau does not keep statistics before 1998, Mr. Zappala noted that data from the American Public Human Services Association does give “a less reliable estimate for the number of children entering care in the years from 1982 to 1997.”

According to this association, in 1982, approximately 161,000 children entered foster care, a number that increased consistently to around 250,000 in 1997.

“I for one doubt that there was a one year increase of 50,000 children entering foster care between 1997 and 1998,” Mr. Zappala said. “However, the general trend of increasing entry rates – which is as one would expect given the nation’s growing population – is probably correct.”

Recent Decrease In Inter-Country Adoptions

In addition to infant domestic adoptions and adoptions from the foster care system, children are also adopted from other countries.

According to the U.S. Department of State, the annual number of inter-country adoptions rose from 4,232 in 1973 to 22,911 in 2004, despite some variation in the late 80s and early 90s.  In the last four years, however, this number has fallen slightly.  U.S. Department of State estimates that there were 17,438 inter-country adoptions by American parents in 2008.

Chuck Johnson, NCFA COO, said the recent decline in inter-country adoptions has to do with “bureaucratic struggles taking place in other countries which is making it difficult to get orphans out of countries.” He also noted rising international concern with human trafficking has made countries want to “make sure inter-country adoptions are safe” and has led to “countries’ reluctance to release orphans to go anywhere.”

Erin Maguire can be reached at emaguire@thebulletin.us