Introduction Chapter One: “Such a Program of Legislation”: Illegitimacy and Law Reform Chapter Two: “Doubtful of her Veracity”: Procedures and Judgment under the Children of Unmarried Parents Act Chapter Three: “I did not bring this child into the world BY MYSELF”: Stories of Pregnancy Chapter Four: “Best for Our Babies”: The Adoption Mandate Chapter Five: “Haunted by Bills”: Lone Motherhood and Poverty Chapter Six: “Known as MRS. S”: Cohabitation and the Children of Unmarried Parents Act ConclusionsBibliography  

"With her usual scholarly rigour, Lori Chambers untangles the interwoven relations of the law, society and the state concerning adoption in Ontario. She brings clarity to a subject not infrequently paradoxical, even as a social construct: adoption, she demonstrates, was not always "in the best interests" of the children at its centre despite the laws developed exactly to that end."　

"With her usual scholarly rigour, Lori Chambers untangles the interwoven relations of the law, society and the state concerning adoption in Ontario. She brings clarity to a subject not infrequently paradoxical, even as a social construct: adoption, she demonstrates, was not always "in the best interests" of the children at its centre despite the laws developed exactly to that end." -- Cynthia Comacchio, Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University "With her customary subtlety, alertness to multiple perspectives, and critical scrutiny of received wisdom, Lori Chambers tackles the complexities of an institution that has aided many families while intensifying hierarchies of gender, race, and class." -- Robert Leckey, Dean and Samuel Gale Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University "Lori Chambers's excellent study of adoption law situates key Canadian legal cases in their social and political context, illuminating with immense clarity and insight the changing assumptions shaping the experiences of adoptive and adopting parents, children, and families over the twentieth century. Her acute analysis of adoption law exposes the conflicts, contradictions, pain, and well-meaning intentions that shaped the experience of adoption, with particular attention to the inequalities and power imbalances created by gender, race, class, and colonialism. Chambers's study will remain the definitive look at adoption law for years to come." -- Joan I. Sangster, FRSC, Vanier Professor, Trent University