《书目》(Booklist)书评
Gr. 9-12. This well-balanced collection of essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series offers perspectives on topics related to adoption in America today. Issues discussed include adoption as an alternative to abortion, transracial adoptions, and adoptions by gay and lesbian couples. One question particularly well covered is the difficulty of balancing an adopted person's right to know his or her parentage with the right to privacy promised the birth parents years earlier. Another, more basic question raised is whether adoption should be encouraged or abolished. Cothran begins each chapter with a preface framing the issues, and she starts each selected reading with a short introduction to the writer, the issue, and the questions raised. The book ends with an annotated list of relevant organizations, questions for further discussion, and bibliographies. Sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory, the many views clearly articulated here make this volume an excellent starting place for any thoughtful discussion of adoption. --Carolyn Phelan