The Bitter Harvest of Baby Farms

Foster care fronting as murder for hire

Denise Shelton
History of Women

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Image created by the author in NightCafe AI

“Highly respectable married couple wish to adopt child. Good country home. Premium required, very small.”— Newspaper ad placed by convicted British “baby farmer” Amelia Dyer

One thing was clear to me from the first time I understood that I could get pregnant. I would do everything in my power to prevent it until I was ready. Lucky for me, the pill was available, effective, and accessible. I never once had an “OMG” moment during my entire fertile period. When I was married and ready, I went off the pill and it wasn’t long before a baby boy was was mine to love, instruct, and subject to my benevolent ignorance.

I suspect that the grand plan of life forces parents to prove their worth without instructions or face the consequences. Unfortunately, not everyone who finds themselves “in the family way” is equipped to step up to the plate.

Imagine finding yourself inconveniently pregnant in Victorian England. Whatever choices were available, they were limited and almost certainly not yours. It was a man’s world

Regardless of your status, your hand would be forced by whoever had control over you, usually a man, be he husband, father, churchwarden, or pimp. Even if your family had ample resources to care for your child, the taint…

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