This piece was written by Judy Kelly and copyrighted in 1999. It is being reprinted with permission. Please see the copyright disclosure at the end of the blog series.

During the mid-1960’s, there came together a set of social phenomena that resulted in the relinquishment of unprecedented numbers of infants by birthmothers. This thesis explores the long-term impact of relinquishment on women who lost their children to adoption during the years 1965 and 1972. These years marked the coincidence of two major events: (1) the emergence of a sexual revolution and (2) the entry of baby boomers into adolescent reproductive and sexual maturation. Due to relaxed sexual mores, the illegality of abortions, and the not-yet-widespread use of oral contraception, out-of-wedlock pregnancies among young women soared. The social, political, and religious climate during this period dictated closed adoption as the recommended, and often only, course of action. Both the unwed mother and her "illegitimate" child were stigmatized by society. Pregnant teens were expelled from school and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy could result in dismissal from employment. In many states, unwed mothers and their children were not entitled to receive welfare. Apartment leases, utilities, and credit were not legally available to an unmarried woman under 21 without a co-signer. This was the era prior to Planned Parenthood. Birth control was prescribed to teens for the treatment of physical problems (e.g. dysmenorrhea), rather than for contraception, and then only with parental consent. Although some of the issues surrounding relinquishment found in previous decades may still remain, I believe that the differences between the social climate of the 60’s and later decades are large enough to warrant that birthmothers relinquishing during the years 1965 and 1972 be treated as a cohort group and analyzed as such. This group represents a large segment of the birthmother population whose psychological needs remain invalidated.