Abstract

February, 1967 AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK Conclusion Those arranging an adoption should con- sider the genetics of the natural parents of an It is the universal hope of all natural parents offered infant, because in a general manner that their offspring will obtain from them at their genetic constitution determines the appear- least the same physical and mental endowments ance, intelligence and personality of the infant. as they received from their parents. However, It would be more comparable with natural re- it has been said, and it is probably correct, that production to attempt to match the character- each of us has in our make-up several genes, istics of the natural parents with those of the any one of which would produce a non-viable adopting parents. This again is an idealistic or grossly abnormal offspring if the gamete suggestion because the natural father is rarely which contained it joined with a gamete con- available for assessment. In practice, the appear- taining a similar gene. Reproduction is there- ance of the infant and the background of the fore a gamble over which, at present, parents mother are important considerations. have no control. It could be argued that adoption of