Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Special Issues In Transcultural, Transracial, And Gay And Lesbian Parenting And Adoption, Frank E. Vandervort, Robert B. Sanoshy
Special Issues In Transcultural, Transracial, And Gay And Lesbian Parenting And Adoption, Frank E. Vandervort, Robert B. Sanoshy
Book Chapters
The adoption of children whose natural parents are unable to or incapable of caring for them by adults who are able to provide for them has existed throughout human history in one form or another (In re Smith Estate 1955; Miller et al. 2007). Before the mid-1800s, however, there was no formal mechanism for a person interested in adopting a child in the United States to do so (Bartholet 1999). In 1851, the Massachusetts legislature enacted the Massachusetts Adoption of Children Act (General Court of Massachusetts 1851). Though enacted more than 150 years ago, the act's basic structure is clearly …