The Debt We Owe

Abstract

African Americans’ efforts to protect reproductive rights and pursue reproductive justice have taken many forms. This article uses examples from the personal experiences and professional activities of Dr. Dorothy L. Brown—physician, adoptive mother, Tennessee state legislator, and abortion activist—to demonstrate why adoption was never a simple substitute for abortion for African Americans who had to utilize abortion, adoption, foster care, and child welfare institutions to address the needs of vulnerable women and children.