Description
With Retro Report, an investigation into how so-called “baby brokers” have targeted pregnant women and families looking to adopt, and an epicenter of the problem in Utah.
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The adoption industry in the U.S. is a multi-billion-dollar business, where demand outpaces the number of infants available for adoption. In “Baby Brokers,” FRONTLINE and Retro Report investigate a loosely-regulated corner of the industry described as “adoption tourism” and examine how allegations of misconduct involving for-profit agencies and brokers have mounted.
The documentary illuminates a patchwork system, where allegations of misconduct have stacked up in states like Utah with historically more permissive laws.
In the documentary, the head of an adoption agency in Utah says that out-of-state adoptions fulfill an important need. But other sources express concern about how brokers and agencies have used cash and housing offers as incentives for vulnerable women in other states.
In recent months, Utah has moved to tighten some of its laws in response to mounting criticisms from birth mothers, their advocates, and adoptive parents. And at the federal level, lawmakers from a number of states are backing a bipartisan bill aimed at reining in unlicensed brokers who funnel pregnant women and families across state lines for adoptions.
As the debate over “adoption tourism” continues, “Baby Brokers” is a must-watch exploration of the practice, the role of brokers, and the impact on both birth mothers and adoptive parents.
“Baby Brokers” is a FRONTLINE production with Retro Report. The correspondent and writer is Gabrielle Glaser. The director, writer and producer is Sarah Weiser. The senior producers are Frank Koughan and Bonnie Bertram. The executive producer of Retro Report is Kyra Darnton. The managing editor of FRONTLINE is Andrew Metz. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.
Explore additional reporting on “Baby Brokers” on our website:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/baby-brokers/
#Documentary #Adoption #Utah
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FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and airs nationwide on PBS.
Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with major support from Ford Foundation, and The Fialkow Family Foundation.
Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Trust, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and Corey David Sauer, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.
Additional support for “Baby Brokers” was provided by the DJ McManus Foundation and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Prologue
01:05 - How Does ‘Adoption Tourism’ Work?
09:30 - Examining Lax Laws in the For-Profit Adoption Industry
13:33 - How Did Utah Become a Hotspot for Adoption?
20:06 - One Agency Head’s Perspective on Out-of-State Adoptions
24:13 - Critics’ Concerns About Out-of-State Adoptions
33:52 - How ‘Baby Brokers’ Targeted Pregnant Marshallese Women for ‘Adoption Tourism’
48:04 - A Patchwork System of Laws Around Adoption
52:16 - Credits