After the end of Roe v. Wade, a new beginning for maternity homes

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “It’s been a significant increase,” said Valerie Harkins, director of the Maternity Housing Coalition, an anti-abortion network of 195 maternity homes that has grown 23% since the court’s ruling. “There’s quite a need.” A Painful Legacy The heyday of American maternity homes came during the three decades before Roe, when more than 1.5 million infants were surrendered for adoption during the “Baby Scoop Era.” Many unwed pregnant women were sent to maternity homes, where they were often coerced into relinquishing their babies. “It’s a mother losing her child,” said Ann Fessler, who collected oral histories from Baby Scoop Era mothers in her book, “The Girls Who Went Away.” Fessler said, “The women, especially the ones that did not feel like they had a part in the decision, live with this trauma the rest of their lives.” Harkins said the Maternity Housing Coalition takes ownership of this history. “You don’t end up in a maternity home because you have a big, huge, loving village of a family,” she said.