Why Punishing Pregnant Women Doesn't Protect Their Babies

In this episode of Voices of Adoption, host Donna Pope sits down with Christina Dent, founder of End It For Good, a nonprofit working to shift how we approach drugs and addiction from punishment to help-centered solutions.One Placement Changed Everything.Christina and her husband started fostering in 2014. Their three placements produced three different outcomes: one child they adopted, one returned to family with an ongoing connection, and one left after two years with no contact since. But it was their second placement that changed her life and career.Lullabies Over Speakerphone.When baby Beckham came to them straight from the hospital, Christina expected his birth mother, Joanne, to fit the stereotype she'd absorbed growing up: that people who use drugs are bad people who don't love their children. Instead, she watched Joanne run across a parking lot, crying to kiss her newborn. She answered daily phone calls where Joanne asked every detail about her son and then sang to him over speakerphone. She drove Beckham to a treatment center that allowed mothers to keep their babies with them during recovery.Ten Years Sober Today.Everything Christina thought she knew about addiction fell apart. She went back to square one and started learning. That journey led her to launch End It For Good, advocating for health-centered approaches to substance use instead of criminalization. Today, Joanne is 10 years sober, working at the same treatment center where she got clean, and raising Beckham herself.This episode challenges foster and adoptive families to ask a difficult question: can we love a child enough to give them back? Looking for support on your adoption journey? Visit VoicesofAdoption.org for support, resources, and community from every corner of the adoption constellation.#VoicesOfAdoption #FosterCare #Adoption #AddictionRecovery #EndItForGood #ChristinaDent #FosterToAdopt #BirthMom #Reunification #TraumaInformedCare #SubstanceAbuse #FosterParenting #AdoptionJourney #RecoveryIsPossible #FamilyReunificationFollow or Subscribe to Voices of Adoption on your favorite platform:-Website: VoicesofAdoption.org | YouTube: @VoicesofAdoptionShow | Twitter/X: Voices_Adoption | Instagram: Voicesof_Adoption | Facebook: Voices of Adoption | TikTok: @Voices_of_Adoption | LinkedIn: @Voices-of-AdoptionFollow Nathan Gwilliam - LinkedIn: @nathangwilliamFollow Donna Pope - LinkedIn: @donna-pope-41652baFollow Christina Dent - Website: EndItForGood.com | LinkedIn: @ChristinaBDent | Instagram: @ChristinaBDent | Facebook: ChristinaBDent | Twitter/X: @ChristinaBDent