Juno is arguably the most well-known depiction of adoption in pop culture... but what messages does it really send about relinquishment, teen pregnancy, and reproductive justice? Is adoption truly the “perfect alternative” to abortion as Juno would have us believe, or does this charmingly complicated 2007 film gloss over the realities of birth mothers and family separation?

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Gretchen Sisson, sociologist and author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, to break down Juno’s thorny politics on choice, motherhood, and adoption.

GUEST DETAILS Gretchen Sisson, Ph.D., is a qualitative sociologist studying abortion and adoption at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at University of California, San Francisco. Her research was cited in the Supreme Court’s dissent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. She is the author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.

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