Adoption Advertising: Mother Lists Child on Craigslist

Oklahoma's News9 reports:

On April 28, a startling listing was found in the “Pets” section of the Oklahoma City Craigslist page. A mother was asking for a family in a good home to take her 10-month-old son after losing the father while she was pregnant.

The mother only responded to a single email at the address left on the ad. She said she knew the ad is hard to believe but it’s true.

"Life is treating me on the bad side leaving me with no option," she said.

According to state law, it is illegal for a parent to give up a child around legal channels after the state’s safe haven law expires.

Advertising for adoption -- by prospective birth parents seeking to place or by prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt -- is regulated by each individual state. Some prohibit all adoption advertising, others allow advertising only by public and/or private adoption agencies, some ban prospective birth parents from advertising while permitting some or all prospective adoptive parents to advertise. This publication from the Child Welfare Information Gateway collects the various laws, and is extremely helpful in figuring out the complex landscape in the U.S. when it comes to advertising and the use of facilitators in adoption.