ABSTRACT
In an interesting study of childlessness among Canadians, Miall examines infertility, whether voluntary or involuntary, as a form of “deviant” or non normative behavior: being childless can result in the assignment of stigma, or a sign of disgrace. Although an adoptive parents’ movement may not be enough, in and of itself, to bring about major or structural changes, bringing issues to the attention of policy makers and to other powerful advocates for improving adoption is an important step. With the changes in the type and circumstances of many children available for adoption from the domestic child welfare system and the large numbers of children being adopted beyond infancy from orphanages and other institutional settings in Russia and other Eastern European countries. Many people seem to feel sorry for adopted children, perhaps because they view such children as having been “given away” or “discarded” by their birth families.
