Editing Adoption (section)

==Language of adoption==
{{Main|Language of adoption}}

Since the 1970s, changes in social attitudes have resulted in examination of the language used in adoption and shifts in language use. Controversies in adoption reform efforts have been reflected in the varying terminology recommended by adoptive parents, birth parents, adoptees, and professionals involved in the adoption process such as social workers. Two of the contrasting sets of terms are commonly referred to as "positive adoption language" (PAL, sometimes called "respectful adoption language" or RAL), and "honest adoption language".

As adoption search and support organizations developed, there were challenges to the language in common use at the time. Books such as ''Adoption Triangle'' by Sorosky, Pannor and Baran (1978) and newly formed support groups such as CUB (Concerned United Birthparents) argued for a shift in language from "natural parent" to "birthparent."<ref name=Birthparent>[http://www.sacredhealing.com/triadoption/Misc./Origin%20of%20the%20Term%20Birthparent.pdf Birthparent Legacy Term] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219211754/http://sacredhealing.com/triadoption/Misc./Origin%20of%20the%20Term%20Birthparent.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sacredhealing.com/triadoption/Misc./Origin%20of%20the%20Term%20Birthparent.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=19 December 2010 }} TRIADOPTION® Archives</ref><ref>[http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/birthparents.htm Birth Parents] The Adoption History Project</ref> In 1979, social worker Marietta Spencer wrote "The Terminology of Adoption," introducing the idea of "positive adoption language" and arguing that "[s]ocial service professionals and adoptive parents should take responsibility for providing informed and sensitive leadership in the use of words."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marietta |first=Marietta E. |date=1979 |title=The terminology of adoption |journal=Child Welfare |volume=58 |issue=7 |pages=451}}</ref> Terms used in "positive adoption language" and the related "respectful adoption language" include the terms "birth mother" (to replace the terms "natural mother" and "real mother"), and "placing" (to replace the term "surrender").

In contrast, proponents of "honest adoption language" (HAL) emphasize the value of the family relationships that existed prior to legal adoption and note that mothers who have "voluntarily surrendered" children seldom view it as a choice that was freely made.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Logan, J. |year=1996 |title=Birth Mothers and Their Mental Health: Uncharted Territory |journal=British Journal of Social Work |volume=26 |pages=609–625 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a011137 |issue=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author=Wells, S. |year=1993 |title=What do Birthmothers Want? |journal=[[Adoption & Fostering (journal)|Adoption & Fostering]] |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=22–26 |doi=10.1177/030857599301700405 |s2cid=147064719}}</ref> Proponents of "honest language adoption" argue that the use of the term "birth mother" dehumanize women who have given birth, likening them to an incubator, and does not reflect that mother-child relationships continue after the physical act of giving birth.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2003 |title=Honest Adoption Language |url=https://www.originscanada.org/adoption-practices/adoption-language/honest-adoption-language/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=Origins Canada}}</ref> Terms included in HAL include terms that were used before PAL, including "natural mother" and "surrendered for adoption," as well as the use of language emphasizing the lifelong status of adoptees, such as "is adopted" instead of "was adopted."<ref name=":3" />