About the Project:
This project aims to explore the intersection of adoption and abortion through the personal perspectives of adoptees by exploring their experiences and opinions on abortion.
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Through this project, I want to:
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provide a platform for adoptees to authentically share their unique and personal perspectives on abortion.
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challenge stereotypes, misconceptions, and assumptions surrounding adoptees' experiences and viewpoints.
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foster meaningful dialogue and promote empathy towards diverse perspectives within the adoption community.
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Disclaimer: all responses shared in this project are personal perspectives and do not represent the views of all adoptees. Respectful and open-minded engagement with diverse viewpoints is encouraged.
Background:
For adoptees, the discussion around abortion can be particularly nuanced and multifaceted. Consequently, adoptees often face the pressure of conforming to specific viewpoints based solely on their personal experiences. And despite the complexity of this issue, adoptee voices are often overlooked or misunderstood in discussions surrounding adoption and abortion. Adoptees, like all individuals, have diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences that inform their views on abortion.
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Furthermore, adoptees often find their personal experiences being “manipulated” to support pro-life rhetoric. Adoption is deeply personal and multifaceted, yet it is sometimes reduced to a simplistic endorsement of certain viewpoints. This not only undermines the authenticity of adoptees' experiences but also perpetuates misconceptions about adoptees' perspectives on abortion.
About Me:
Julia Gale
I currently developing this project as a Public Humanities Fellow at Penn State’s Humanities Institute. I am an undergraduate student at Penn State studying political science (B.S) and history. Following graduation, I aspire to attend law school.
As an adoptee myself, this is a topic I am often confronted with. There is often an assumption that because I have what people refer to as a “successful” adoption, I must inherently align with a pro-life perspective. I've observed my experience of being adopted being subtly manipulated to fit a particular agenda, particularly within pro-life rhetoric. In conversations surrounding abortion, simply mentioning my status as an adoptee often triggers automatic assumptions about my stance and experiences.
