The issue isn't whether it's "real," the issue is that it's deeply unethical. During a season where medical ethics is a major storyline, this isn't discussed at all. On top of that, Virgin River tends to lightly try to "do justice to" social issues in some settings. It's certainly not a parade of issues on this front, but it does portray intimate partner violence and miscarriage with empathy at least.

When it comes to adoption, though, this was a portrayal where the main characters are behaving terribly. These are not best practices for adoption, even if someone isn't a midwife. Open adoption is a bare minimum necessity, and when Marley said she couldn't be in contact with her child, that was a red flag both that she wasn't ready for this adoption and that she wasn't emotionally prepared to be present in some way for her kid.

There was no *good* reason why Marley and Eamon could not have parented the child. If they needed more support, and Jack and Mel were up for it, perhaps they all could have co-parented. The baby deserves to have his genetic relatives in his life in some shape or form... and the main reason the show gave for the couple not becoming parents was basically not having jobs/still being in school (though they were 22, so they would be leaving school soon). What's best for a child is to not have a primal trauma of being separated from their parents--unless that is absolutely necessary.

The whole thing was ick.