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Gretchen Sisson

@gretchensisson.bsky.social
1.1K followers 80 following 114 posts

Sociologist at ANSIRH/UCSF; founder of Abortion Bridge Collaborative Fund; author of 'RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption & the Privilege of American Motherhood.'

PostsRepliesMedia
Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Gov. Newsom has vetoed a strengthening of CA’s shield law that would have further protected abortion providers & facilitators from extradition, & extended reciprocal protections to out-of-state providers traveling to CA. Californians who care about repro freedom should be angry about this.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Cash assistance is family preservation. It’s that easy to imagine a different future.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
My WNBA group chat was all abuzz with approval for the new Cleveland Sirens brand, as “Sirens” met the primary criteria for a WNBA team name: could this team name be the subject on which a 19th century lesbian poet would write? Thus, we bring you: Emily Dickinson on the WNBA.
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 21/07/2026
One of the worst things I learned from RELINQUISHED by @gretchensisson.bsky.social was if you have a baby and an open child welfare case for their older sibling, some social workers encourage you to relinquish the baby to a private adoption agency so that you have a “choice” in how you lose them
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Here’s a review from yesterday’s judiciary committee meeting with Senator Aisha Wahab and the California Alliance for Adoptee Rights. It’s a privilege to contribute to this conversation and help move forward the case of open records for adopted people. Next: appropriations!
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Society of Family Planning @societyfp.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New #WeCount data: Preliminary findings make it unmistakably clear that telehealth is a cornerstone of abortion access in the US. Key findings: there were approximately 1.1 million abortions in 2025, and 28% of abortions in December 2025 were provided via telehealth. societyfp.org/research/wec...
societyfp.org
#WeCount preliminary findings telehealth brief - Society of Family Planning
#WeCount is a national research effort that measures monthly counts of clinician-provided abortions. Final 2025 estimates will be released in June 2026. Click here to download the brief as a PDF and v...
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Dr. Daniel Grossman @drdgrossman.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Just a reminder as this case continues to move forward: The actual scientific evidence supports *expanding* access to medication abortion, not restricting it.
theguardian.com
US supreme court temporarily extends access to mail-order abortion medication mifepristone
Louisiana had sued the FDA last fall, arguing that prescribing mifepristone interfered with state’s ban on abortion
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
If this stands, it will block more abortions than the Dobbs decision. www.usnews.com/news/politic...
usnews.com
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Got blocked for this one! For what it’s worth, it’s fine to not know things about adoption — but you can approach with curiosity rather than indignation and dismissal.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
It’s so weird to me when people who know nothing about adoption just confidently assert things that are demonstrably untrue about it.
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Adoptee Advocates of Michigan @aaom-adoptees.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Crimes of the accused adoption worker were also overlooked by the adoption agency, which facilitated the adoption despite knowing the birth mother had been lied to by a doctor who told her her child had died, when in fact the grandmother had privately requested the adoption. buff.ly/TDPBt7S 🥚
koreajoongangdaily.joins.com
Investigation into adoptee's human rights abuses case ends after suspect dies
A victim of human rights abuses in Korea's past intercountry adoption process filed a criminal complaint against the adoption worker involved in her case, but the investigation ended after the worker…
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Greer Donley @greerdonley.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Yvette Lindgren & I have a new essay recently accepted by Southern California Law Review! "The Post-Dobbs Abortion Irony" explores how abortion bans only seem to be chilling medically necessary abortions while everyday abortions are increasing everywhere. 1/4 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Kathryn Joyce @kathrynajoyce.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
I’m honored to be reading as part of this Words as Lifelines series Sunday night at 6pm ET, along with @alandettlaff.com & @gretchensisson.bsky.social, talking adoption, family policing, repro justice & more, to benefit families in Gaza. Donate & join us if you can: form.jotform.com/joonae/lifel...
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 25/03/2026
I’m adopted, not donor-conceived. But I lived the first 4 decades of my life in a state of genetic bewilderment. I think it lowers self-esteem and breeds a kind of dysmorphia. Living in my skin was like wearing some unknown person’s clothes. It took reunion for me to feel truly at home in my body. 🥚
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Excited to share that RELINQUISHED is available in paperback next Tuesday! If you don’t yet have a copy, be sure to visit your local bookstore to grab a copy. Thank you to everyone who has supported this book on its journey thus far — I’m forever grateful to you. 📚
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Mullin continues a long tradition of adoptive parents legislating on their personal experience of a system designed to benefit them. I wonder what will happen to children separated from their parents by borders on his watch.
mullin.senate.gov
The Blessing of Adoption - U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
Giving one’s life to the Lord means walking in the path He has set for us. It’s not always easy but trusting in God’s sovereign plan for our lives will always bless us beyond measure. Our family is pr...
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ANSIRH @ansirh.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
"To me, as a mother who was manipulated into relinquishing her son, this 'third option' [of adoption] isn’t a bridge — it’s a trap draped in the language of bravery. It is dangerous, expensive propaganda."
huffpost.com
There Was One Ad During The Super Bowl That People Aren’t Talking About. It Horrified Me.
"It’s a trap draped in the language of bravery. It is dangerous, expensive propaganda."
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
SB381 has unanimously passed the California Senate! A huge step forward. On to the assembly!
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
You did not bear the shame. You resisted. You bestowed the eternally vigilant symbol of change by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honour. — The German Resistance Memorial in Berlin
Picture of the a plaque at the German Resistance Memorial in Berlin.
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 22/01/2026
NEW: An Atlanta-area crisis pregnancy center has raked in more than $1 million from an unusual source: the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The CPC is opening a maternity home, worrying advocates that residents may be coerced into relinquishing children for adoption. @autonomynews.co
autonomynews.co
One Crisis Pregnancy Center Has Received $1.1 Million in Federal Housing Funds Since 2020
A Georgia anti-abortion organization is building a maternity home. Public opposition surfaced allegations of false advertising and medical licensing issues—and resulted in cease and desist letters.
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Anxious Rage @anxiousrage.blacksky.app · 14/01/2026
Senator Weiner "no matter what we do, some people will end up not being pleased, but here we have an opportunity to do something that will make 100% of adoptees happy and the vast majority of birth parents happy as well"
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
The conversation in front of the health committee today is infuriating. We’re devoting infinite time to this hypothetical group of birth mothers who don’t want their children to have access to their records. I’ve spoken to so many birth mothers. I’ve never met this woman.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Open records for adopted people has passed the California judiciary committee. Unanimously. On to the health committee tomorrow.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
In Sacramento at the senate judiciary committee hearing, advocating for the rights of CA-born adopted people to access their own records. I am concerned about tomorrow’s health committee hearing. If you are in CA, you can call the health committee senators (see below) & advocate in support of SB381.
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The Baffler @thebaffler.com · 06/01/2026
Indian boarding schools sought to strip Native children of their culture. Now, the Trump administration seeks to strip their stories from the historical record while opening ancestral lands for pillage and plunder.
thebaffler.com
Serious Reservations | Kristen Martin
The Trump administration’s erasure of Indigenous history serves a larger project—yet another plunder of land.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Working on my letter to the CA senate judiciary committee right now! CA-born adopted people deserve access to their records. Link below to learn how to offer your support.
caallianceforadopteerights.org
Stay Informed on California Adoption Law
Stay informed on California adoption laws. Join us to support adoptee rights and legislative reform. Act now!
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 04/01/2026
No. No. No. Punitive processes make narrowly targeted programs *less* efficient and *more* costly. Because more scrutiny requires more bureaucracy. Punitive processes also make it *less* likely that people will get aid for which they qualify. Because of the roadblocks and stigma scrutiny creates.
Washington Post Opinions
@postopinions.bsky.social I
"The purpose of entitlements is not to spend as
much as possible," the Editorial Board writes.
"It is to make sure the truly vulnerable get the
help they need without becoming dependent on
government handouts. Scrutinizing food stamp
rolls is a small step in that direction."
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Patricia Knight Meyer - www.myadoptedlife.com @myadoptedlife.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
First mothers need support, not baby boxes. I discussed this on Al Jazeera. Real support = housing, healthcare, childcare, help & community. When we invest in mothers, we invest in keeping families together. #FamilyPreservation #FirstMothers #adoption @gretchensisson.bsky.social #AlJazeera 🥚
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Many things can be true. This policy is racist. *And* transnational adoption into the US is a dying industry that has always been rooted in white saviorism, evangelicalism, predation, lies, and the exploitation geopolitical conflict or natural disaster.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
I can, but they’re probably not the same as the Trump Administration’s reasons.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Glad to be included in this conversation with “Liberty Lost”’s @tjraphael.bsky.social from the Concerned United Birthparent conference. I believe this is the first mainstream critical coverage of the adoption tax credit — an important step in the conversation to align our investment with our values.
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Garnet Henderson @garnethenderson.com · 15/12/2025
I used to make a podcast called ACCESS, and there are a few episodes that continue to get a steady stream of downloads even though they're years old. My episode about adoption, which included an interview with @gretchensisson.bsky.social, is one! Small snippet here: www.instagram.com/p/ChsfdetD6Gt/
instagram.com
ACCESS 🎙 on Instagram: "@ucsf sociologist Gretchen Sisson on what we don’t talk about enough when we talk about adoption. Hear the rest in our latest episode!"
48 likes, 2 comments - accesspod on August 25, 2022: "@ucsf sociologist Gretchen Sisson on what we don’t talk about enough when we talk about adoption. Hear the rest in our latest episode!".
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Garnet Henderson @garnethenderson.com · 08/12/2025
Sign up for an annual subscription to @autonomynews.co and get a signed copy of @gretchensisson.bsky.social’s excellent book!
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kwisatz haderade (#FreeSkylar) @booksandbows.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
in honor of #NAAM, here are some of my favorite books about adoption that you should definitely read. 🥚
A stack of books, only the spines are visible:
The Child Catchers (Kathryn Joyce) 
Beggars and Choosers (Rickie Sollinger)
You Should Be Grateful (Angela Tucker)
Relinquished (Gretchen Sisson)
The Girls Who Went Away (Ann Fessler)
Lost and Found (Betty Jean Lifton)
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kwisatz haderade (#FreeSkylar) @booksandbows.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
there are a lot of good adoption books (and a lot of really bad ones) but i want to take a second during #NAAM to recommend “Relinquished” by @gretchensisson.bsky.social. mandatory reading if you want to have any kind of informed conversation about adoption in 2025. 🥚
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Pleased to share this guest post on ‘Abortion, Every Day’ discussing modern day maternity homes. These homes function differently from pre-Roe homes, but ultimately serve the same regressive aims — with familiar coercive means. Thanks @jessicavalenti.bsky.social! open.substack.com/pub/jessica/...
open.substack.com
The Once and Future Maternity Home
An Abortion, Every Day guest column
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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 30/07/2025
Featured story: “The whole system is premised on commodifying human beings, regardless of whether or not it’s a for-profit or a nonprofit agency. And anytime you’re talking about people as a commodity, I don’t know what that looks like to do ethically.”
texasobserver.org
The Adoption Trap
Private foster care and adoption agencies in Texas are brokering contracts for moms to turn over their children in a murky legal world, spawning protracted civil custody battles.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
I’ve you haven’t had a chance to listen to “Liberty Lost,” now’s the time.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
I have done a deeply mediocre job of connecting with folks here after leaving X (ok, that’s generous), and am having a hard time easily plugging in to the folks I was connected to there. Did that include you? Please say hi so I can get my footing here a little more easily.
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Susan Kiyo Ito @thesusanito.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
So glad to be part of this. Please come, please donate, please support. 🥚🍉 form.jotform.com/251837268680...
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
People on the replies being like “this is trafficking, not adoption” you are *so close.* Abbi’s story on Liberty Lost is powerful and disturbing and I’m so glad it’s being told. But it’s not unique to just her or even to Liberty — this is the system.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
I am often asked: what about gay people who want to adopt? I actually think it’s really important to push back on this question, and any question that centers prospective adoptive parents. Adoption isn’t — or at least shouldn’t be — about sourcing babies for people who want them.
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신 선 영 辛善英 Sun Yung Shin @sunyungshin.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
A very belated congratulations to Gretchen Sisson for her powerful & revelatory book RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, an immaculately researched book about appalling levels inequality, cruelty, entitlement masquerading as the right to motherhood.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Looking forward to this conversation with @cameronrussell.bsky.social on May 27. If you’re in the Boston area, please join us — and spread the word!
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 26/03/2025
this is so difficult, because some of my all-time favorite books were published over the last three years. but the book i wish everyone would read, because of the perspective shift it can and does bring about, is this one: @gretchensisson.bsky.social ‘s RELINQUISHED.
relinquishedbook.com
RELINQUISHED: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood
A powerful decade-long study of adoption in the age of Roe, Relinquished reveals the grief of the American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real. Forthcoming from sociologist Gretchen S...
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Louise Browne @louisebrowne.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Our panel included @sarahreinhardt.bsky.social (co- host), @thesusanito.bsky.social @gretchensisson.bsky.social @monicahallauthor.bsky.social, Kristal Parke, Greg Gentry and Chris Williams. Adoptees sharing, educating and connecting in California! www.adoptionthemakingofme.com
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
I'm partnering with fellow authors @renee.bsky.social @thesweetfeminist.bsky.social and Sabia Wade to support All-Options, an incredible organization that provides meaningful, free, unbiased options counseling for the repro movements. Donate for books (& candy!) docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
New White House Faith Office will be promoting faith-based foster care and adoption programs.
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Gretchen Sisson @gretchensisson.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
When you search on the modified CDC website for "abortion," the results suggest searching for "adoption" as well. If this search suggestion is new, this is obviously deeply disturbing and reveals a lot about how this administration thinks about reproductive autonomy and pregnancy decision making.
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Tony Corsentino @notalegalrecord.net · 05/02/2025
hey if you want to hear @gretchensisson.bsky.social talk about the adoption movie plenty of birth parents (and plenty of adoptees including me) absolutely *hate*, check this out! 🥚
open.spotify.com
"Juno": Adoption Politics and Teen Pregnancy Tropes (Rom-Com Vom)
Sex Ed with DB: smart, science-backed sex education · Episode
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