Why I chose to adopt
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 December 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Actress Jennifer Aniston sparked controversy recently when she said that, despite years of unsuccessful fertility treatment, she is not interested in adopting a baby. Instead, she wants “my own DNA in a little person.” Four women from India, the US and UK share their experiences of trying to have children by several different routes. Sometimes, their choices bring judgement. Imogen, in the UK, always wanted to adopt, yet family and friends wondered why going "down the IVF route” was not an option. Margaret, a mother in India, has both a biological son and an adoptive daughter. She felt an instant connection with the baby girl and has never regretted the decision. Yet everyone tried to dissuade her and her husband from adoption. Her daughter Shika, now 26, joins two other adult adoptive children for our second conversation. They discuss what it was like growing up and how being adopted has affected them personally as well as the relationship with their parents. This episode of The Documentary, comes to you from BBC OS Conversations, bringing together people from around the world to discuss how major news stories are affecting their lives
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:12.5 | Hello, I'm Luke Jones. |
| 0:15.0 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:17.9 | In BBC OS conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. |
| 0:23.2 | This time, the rewards and challenges of building a family through adoption. |
| 0:32.1 | One of the world's most famous actresses, Jennifer Aniston, recently spoke about her years of unsuccessful fertility treatment |
| 0:39.3 | and her dreams of becoming a mother. Rather than adopt, she said she wanted, quote, her own DNA in a |
| 0:45.4 | little person. This comment caused a huge reaction online, particularly amongst women with their own |
| 0:51.3 | fertility struggles, as well as those who had been adopted. |
| 1:00.8 | In our conversations, we wanted to get a sense of what adoption means to families and to the children they adopt. |
| 1:08.7 | So let's hear from four women to get their reaction to what Jennifer Aniston said about wanting to have her own biological child. |
| 1:12.3 | They are Alexis, who is in Florida in the US, and Margaret in India. They have both biological and non-biological children. Imogen is in the UK and has an |
| 1:18.8 | adopted son, and Diana is in Texas. We'll hear from her first. She's currently having IVF |
| 1:24.3 | treatment in the hope of having her first child. It really resonated with me and I felt like I really understood what she was saying. |
| 1:33.3 | What was surprising to me was the universal backlash that she received for speaking out loud, |
| 1:41.5 | something that I think a lot of people feel. |
| 1:44.8 | Margaret, how about you? |
| 1:46.1 | Well, to some extent, I feel she's fine, but then my opinions differ a bit, you know. |
| 1:53.6 | For me, adoption has been a very beautiful experience. |
| 1:57.6 | Having your own kid, that is natural, right? |
| 2:00.1 | That's God given. But when things don't turn up that way, adoption should be considered, I feel. |
| 2:08.3 | Alexis. So I'm kind of in a unique spot where I'm in the middle. So I've been a licensed foster parent for about four years and now we're in a position where my son who's been with me |
... |
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