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'What is it like to be adopted, have your identity changed and never feel quite at home in your new family, despite being loved? What is it like to become a social worker and be faced with the challenges and consequences of other adoptions every day? What is it like to hear the moving National Apology for Forced Adoptions by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2013 only to be faced a few months later by a new prime minister intent on forgetting all the lessons learnt and championing a deregulated parent-centred market-driven adoption industry? Penny Mackieson takes us on her journey with the unique perspective of both an adopted person and a professional who worked in intercountry adoption for over a decade. She unravels the complexities, debunks the myths, analyses the policies and raises important questions about the ethical and human rights dilemmas in adoption. Adoption Deception: A personal and professional journeyis a passionate, heart-wrenching and unflinchingly honest account of one womans life as an adopted person and her campaign for change.The author presents a compelling argument for Permanent Care instead of adoption for vulnerable children unable to be raised by their families in the light of continuing issues of exploitation, identity loss and the priority given to adults wishes over childrens rights.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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In the Best Interests of the Child
2015
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Women’s Book Review , vol. 27 no. 1 / 2 2015-2016; (p. 34-39) 'On 21 March 2013, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the National Apology for Forced Adoptions at Parliament House in Canberra. It was a comprehensive statement to the mothers, fathers, and children who were affected by the policies and practices of decades past, when women who were pregnant outside of marriage were sometimes “encouraged,” shamed, cajoled, or blackmailed by social workers, medical staff, religious people or other authorities into signing away their baby or babies. Couples who were unable to have their children “naturally” because of infertility received these babies and brought them up as if they were their own. Some told their children they had been adopted and some did not; the advice varied according to the time and place and institution. The mothers were often told to “get on with their lives” as if no baby had been born to them.' (Introduction)
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In the Best Interests of the Child
2015
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Women’s Book Review , vol. 27 no. 1 / 2 2015-2016; (p. 34-39) 'On 21 March 2013, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the National Apology for Forced Adoptions at Parliament House in Canberra. It was a comprehensive statement to the mothers, fathers, and children who were affected by the policies and practices of decades past, when women who were pregnant outside of marriage were sometimes “encouraged,” shamed, cajoled, or blackmailed by social workers, medical staff, religious people or other authorities into signing away their baby or babies. Couples who were unable to have their children “naturally” because of infertility received these babies and brought them up as if they were their own. Some told their children they had been adopted and some did not; the advice varied according to the time and place and institution. The mothers were often told to “get on with their lives” as if no baby had been born to them.' (Introduction)
