Evelyn Burns Robinson

In the following viewpoint, Evelyn Burns Robinson argues that adoption is wrong because it is a permanent solution to temporary problems. She contends that instead of promoting adoption, society should help mothers struggling with poverty or mental illness. Robinson believes that the biological ties between mother and child should never be severed. Robinson is a former high school teacher and a social worker with the Association Representing Mothers Separated from their Children (ARMS). She is the author of Adoption and Loss: The Hidden Grief, the source of the following viewpoint.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What “humane alternative” to adoption was enacted by the New Zealand government in 2000, according to Robinson?
2. What solution does the author propose for assisting children who are not safe with their natural parents?
3. According to Robinson, what is the...