According to TikToker Jen Jen (@jenjengomez2.0), some adoption agencies try to convince pregnant inmates to sell their babies for $20,000.
It’s a side of the system that rarely gets talked about, and it raises some serious ethical questions.
“So, when you go through intake, you either know you’re pregnant, or you don’t, ” said Jen Jen. “And that part doesn’t even matter because when they find out you’re pregnant, your medical chart immediately goes to whatever company this private adoption agency is, and then the people start to come see you every week.”
Jen Jen went to jail when she was roughly six weeks pregnant. Like everyone else, she went through intake, filling out a bunch of forms about her personal life, including her family, marital status, financial situation, and whether she had a support system waiting for her on the outside. That information was quickly accessed and used.
Soon enough, a lady would visit her like clockwork every Wednesday, encouraging her to consider adoption. Incarcerated pregnant women often face uncertainty about their future and have limited resources.
So, for some, the idea of providing their child with stability elsewhere might feel like the only option.
But the way the option is framed can cross a line. Agencies will use personal information against incarcerated mothers to tailor their approach, highlighting health concerns, a lack of housing, or the father not being in the picture as reasons why adoption might be the best choice for them.
At the same time, the offer of financial compensation ($20,000) can be very enticing to someone who is struggling. Jen Jen was able to say no, but she acknowledges that not everyone is in the position to do so and could be more susceptible to pressure.
“For me, somebody who had the education and the foundation to say no, I’m not selling you my kid for $20k, but that’s me,” said Jen Jen.
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“Most women do not have that. They’re desperate, they’re hungry, you’re offering them money. You’re telling them their baby is going to a great place as a private adoption agency.”
Now, she’s warning others about how predatory certain practices in the prison systems are because they are targeting people who are vulnerable, scared, and desperate.
Adoption should be a choice that is made freely and without coercion. In the prison system, it doesn’t seem that women are being given that choice under fair and ethical circumstances.
Several TikTok users shared their own adoption stories in the comments section.
“Not jail-related, but I know a girl who did a closed private adoption, and they gave her $500 per week and $10,000 post-birth for recovery. That’s almost $30k some couple paid for her baby. We were 18, so at the time, it seemed like great money…But now, almost 10 years later, I realize she was completely taken advantage of,” commented one user.
“My mom was in prison pregnant with me, with the plan of her family taking me once she had me. But she randomly gave me up for adoption and didn’t even tell my family, so I was just lost and gone, and seeing this now makes me wonder. My adopted mom died when I was 12, and I ended up in foster home to foster home,” shared another.
“Private infant adoptee here! My bio mom was preyed upon as well. Thanks for telling your story,” added a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
