Most people who've been touched by adoption are aware of what's known as "The Baby Scoop Era," a period lasting from approximately 1940 to 1970 during which unmarried (white) women were encouraged to give up their babies for adoption.
Well, not so much "encouraged" as coerced.
Again, remember that life was different a half-century ago. Birth control for women was almost non-existent and generally available only to married women. While available -- for a price -- abortion was illegal, and often dangerous.
