Rabbis in the Philadelphia area were urged today to help combat the Philadelphia ,”black market” in babies. The appeal was made by Alfred J. Goldsmith, president of the Association for Jewish Children, an agency set up by the Federation of Jewish Agencies.
“The demand for children is now the greatest social problem besides old age, in the United States, ” Mr. Goldsmith asserted. “In 1956, alone, the Association had over 300 requests for babies. The need for babies far exceeds the supply.”
Mr. Goldsmith noted that although there are relatively few unwed mothers in the Jewish community, a large proportion of them fall into the hands of unscrupulous people who “sell” the babies to childless couples. He pointed out that the agency is the only recognized Jewish adoption agency in Philadelphia and said it offered complete help to unwed mothers.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
