Ric Flair — Screenshot WWE/YouTube, edit by author

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Babies Have Always Been Big Business in America

Roe v Wade Supreme Court opinion calls for a “Domestic Supply of Infants”

Amy Sterling Casil
5 min readMay 8, 2022

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The leaked U.S. Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade calls for “a domestic supply of infants” for those seeking to adopt a child.

It’s a long tradition. From the 1920s to 1950s, about 5,000 children passed through the doors of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. This article has a picture of superstar pro wrestler Ric Flair not just because I’m a Ric Flair (“Whoooo!”) fan but because he is the most well-known baby adopted from the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. I could have also used a picture of “Mommy Dearest” Joan Crawford’s adopted children. They were also purchased from the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and its criminal mastermind, Georgia Tann.

Before abortion became legal nationally as a result of the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, women who became pregnant usually had the babies. Teens were sent to “unwed mothers’ homes”. The babies were given up for adoption or raised in group homes.

But the Tennessee Children’s Home Society was not the average adoption agency. The…

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Amy Sterling Casil
Amy Sterling Casil

Written by Amy Sterling Casil

Over 500 million views and 5 million published words, top writer in health and social media. Author of 50 books, former exec, Nebula nominee.

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