Synopsis

In 1960s America, premarital pregnancy carried devastating social consequences. Birth control was difficult to obtain, abortion was illegal, and young women faced impossible choices. In 1961, sixteen-year-old Margaret Erle became pregnant. Her unsympathetic family sent her to a maternity home, where hospital nurses wouldn't allow her to hold her own newborn. After relentless pressure, she signed away her parental rights, and her son disappeared into an adoption agency's custody. American Baby exposes the lucrative and exploitative adoption industry built on secrecy, lies, and the claim of acting in everyone's best interests. Agencies fabricated stories about infants' origins and destinations, struck questionable deals with doctors and researchers for pseudoscientific assessments, and shamed millions of young women into surrendering their children. Through Margaret's story—one she shares with millions of Americans—Gabrielle Glaser reveals the oppressive expectations and institutions that tore families apart. Margaret eventually married her child's father and raised a large family, but never stopped longing for her firstborn son. She didn't know he spent his early years living just blocks away, wondering about his origins. As adoption's sealed records face legal challenges nationwide and open adoption becomes standard practice, this book illuminates a dark chapter in American history while pointing toward justice, honesty, and the possibility of healing decades of enforced separation.