According to USA Today, the petition drive was started by Amber Austin who adopted a baby boy last year. She became concerned after watching an episode of Glee in which a teen mother who placed her daughter for adoption, is actively trying to "get my daughter back." The episode leaves the audience with the impression that a birth mother can simply reclaim her child, which is not true.
"For adopted children, the show raises the fear that they may be taken away from their adopted families," says Austin. "And for adoptive parents and birth mothers, the show creates confusion about the nature of adoption - confusion and mistruths that proponents of adoption constantly work to dispel."
She addes: "And for young women facing unplanned pregnancies, many of whom are in Glee's target demographic, the show may give the inaccurate impression that adoption is a temporary solution, not a permanent one."
Although the laws in each state vary, most do not allow a birth mother to take back a child after she has signed adoption papers. And those who do allow it, often limit this period of revocation to 30 days or fewer.
"The problem with story lines like this is they're not grounded in reality. They skew people's idea of adoption," said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
Pertman told USA Today that 90 percent of adoption agencies now offer "open" adoptions, in which birth parents get continued access to a child after placement. And most birth mothers get counseling before signing adoption papers which is why revoking consent is so rare.
Glee has been under fire before because of its portrayals of gratuitous sex and sometimes explicit dialogue. The Parent's Television Council does not recommended the show for children under 16 years of age.
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