The Adoption of Children 207 



will sooner or later have a bad effect upon 

 both child and mother. The mother should 

 thus be taught the desirability of renunciation 

 and inspired to be willing to sacrifice her claim 

 of motherhood for the benefit of her child. 



For women who are in good circumstances 

 the problem is not so difficult. In a few in- 

 stances it has been arranged that an unmarried 

 mother shall adopt her o^vn baby with our nurs- 

 ery as intermediary. Thus is offered a happy 

 solution of a tragic problem. 



Norway has taken a most advanced stand 

 in connection with the legal status of the child 

 born out of wedlock, — which is the same in rela- 

 tion to the father as to the mother. Efforts are 

 made to establish the paternity of the child as 

 far as the state can accomplish this. The right 

 of the child overrides the right of the mother 

 in case she wishes to keep this a secret. As a 

 result, 40 per cent, of the illegitimate children 

 in NorAvay receive support from their fathers. 

 In all these cases paternity had to be established 

 if it was not willingly acknowledged. 



Until other countries are willing to give a 



