Adoption Utah

She was resting with an epidural when her heart started racing. By the time her husband returned with the nurse, she was in full cardiac arrest. In this episode of Adoption Utah, host Donna Pope sits down with Catherine Garrett, founder of the Birth Trauma Stories podcast, after a 1% chance of survival reshaped her family. Nine Days, Seven Surgeries An amniotic fluid embolism triggered cardiac arr...

“This is the best part of my day.” Judges say this at nearly every adoption finalization. After more than 1,100 cases, attorney Lonn Litchfield still feels the same way. In this episode of Adoption Utah with host Donna Pope, Lonn shares insights from decades of adoption law, explaining why ethical adoption begins with one core principle: a genuine choice for birth mot...

In this episode of Adoption Utah with host Donna Pope, Richard and Elizabeth share their seven-year journey from Richard's firm rejection of adoption to becoming passionate advocates for open relationships with birth families. Richard admits he refused to pray about his wife's spiritual prompting because he feared the answer, worrying about finances, genetic connections, and inviting strangers int...

In this episode of Adoption Utah with host Donna Pope, adoptee and writer Dr. Liz DeBetta unpacks adoption through the lens of creative healing, sharing her lived experience from growing up in a closed adoption feeling emotionally overwhelmed and alone. She recounts starting to write secret poems at 14 to process unnamed grief, receiving her original birth certificate on her 40th birthday, and the...

In this episode of Adoption Utah with host Donna Pope, adoptee and licensed therapist Troy Love unpacks the complexity of adoption through his framework of six attachment wounds, sharing lived experience from being adopted at five days old into a family struggling with domestic violence. He recounts managing the duality of loving adoptive parents who caused harm, searching for his birth mother at...

In this episode of Adoption Utah with host Donna Pope, birth mother and advocate Lynea Krukiewicz unpacks Utah adoption through the lens of rights, privacy, and permanency described in the state's legislative intent, sharing lived experience behind what those promises look like in practice. She recounts a semi open adoption that narrowed over time, the strain of routing contact through attorneys,...

In this second episode, Nathan Gwilliam continues interviewing Donna Pope, host of Adoption Utah, exploring what sets Utah apart as America's adoption destination. What Makes Utah Unique Discover the surprising statistics that make Utah families different - 3.1 people per household versus the national 2.6 average to 76% religious affiliation rates and number one economic outlook rankings for 18 co...

In this pilot episode of Adoption Utah, discover the incredible journey of Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart to Heart Adoptions and your host for Adoption Utah. Donna's Journey With 27 years of experience in Utah's adoption landscape, Donna shares her transition from medical research at LDS Hospital and the University of Utah to founding an adoption agency focused on treating birth mothers w...

Adoption Utah cuts through the confusion surrounding Utah's adoption system with real stories and expert guidance. Host Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart To Heart Adoptions, brings 25+ years of experience to every episode exploring what makes Utah America's premier adoption destination. Each episode reveals the cultural and demographic forces that set Utah apart through unique family structu...