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Adoption Reform
Mary and her husband were returning from an extended
RV vacation in Canada. When they crossed the border into the United States they were directed to produce their identity papers. In addition
to her driver’s license, Mary gave the customs officer her birth certificate. In a matter of minutes she and her husband
were separated and taken to different rooms. A female officer soon entered Mary’s room and told her to disrobe and prepare
for a body cavity search.
Shocked and disoriented at hearing these words,
Mary felt herself gasp for breath as she asked the officer what she had done wrong and why this was happening to her. The
officer replied only that the search could be done “the easy way” or “the hard way.” In a zombie-like
daze, Mary disrobed and submitted to the search.
Sharon was a forty-five year old professional woman whose life could
be captured in just one word: successful. She was financially secure, had a coveted position at her firm, and a personal
life that satisfied her emotional needs. Yet, on a hot summer day she found herself skulking inside a high-rise parking garage.
A man in a black car stopped beside her and instructed her to give him the envelope containing five hundred dollars. As she
left the drop site, Sharon couldn’t help feeling she
was an actor in an international spy movie. She also knew she was now a criminal.
Jack was finishing his freshman year in college
and had been accepted by the National Council of Churches to do missionary work in Africa
for the summer. He arrived, filled with anticipation for his upcoming adventure, in New York City
for a week of orientation and to obtain visas for Ghana, Nigeria, Upper Volta,
and Togoland. He had sent the required documents to the embassies months earlier and was shocked when the ambassador of Togoland
told him they would not issue a visa.
What do Mary,
Sharon and Jack have in common? They were all adopted in states that have closed adoption records. When their adoptions were
finalized, their original birth certificate was sealed and locked away. To take its place, a new document called an “amended
birth certificate” was created by the state.
Mary didn’t know her birth certificate was different from that of anyone else. Because
the customs officers had never seen an amended birth certificate, they assumed her birth certificate and by extension her
driver’s license, were false documents. Customs officers were expecting a pair of drug smugglers to attempt a border
crossing and Mary and her husband became unwitting suspects.
Sharon was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening hereditary disease and her doctor needed her to get the medical
history of her biological family members. Knowing that the courts rarely open closed adoption records, even when an adoptee
has a terminal illness, Sharon did the only thing she felt
she could. She paid an unscrupulous private investigator to bribe a records clerk who would make copies of the sealed records
she would need to begin her search.
Jack was
able to participate in his summer missionary project. However, when the other students went to Togoland, he was forced to
stay in Ghana. The government of
Togoland considered his amended birth certificate a “false” and “fraudulent” document. As the ambassador
told him, “You have only one mother and father. Your mother is the woman who gave birth to you and your father is the
man who got her pregnant. The people on this false document cited as your mother and father are not your mother and father.”
These are
examples of just a few of the ways the system of closed adoption records, known as the system of secrets and lies by adoptee
rights activists, seriously hurts the lives of adopted adults. Far from providing the protection touted by opponents of open
records including The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The National Council for Adoption, Right-to-Life groups,
and adoption agencies of the adoption industry, for adopted adults the closed records system is a system of disenfranchisement,
depersonalization, and dehumanization.
Several years
ago the Evan B. Donaldson Institute in New York released the most comprehensive statistics
compiled on how many adoptees there are in America.
The Donaldson survey showed that nearly six of every ten Americans have had a “personal experience” with
adoption. That means they, a family member, or close friend were adopted, adopted a child, or placed a child for adoption.
However, the number of adoptees who have had their lives disrupted, their civil and human rights taken away, and their dignity
trampled by the system of closed adoption records is as much of a well hidden secret as the number of women who are victims
of rape.
In November 2007, the Donaldson
Institute released a report titled, "For the Records: Restoring A Right to Adult Adoptees." Among the findings in the report
are:
- Prohibiting
adopted people from getting their personal information raises significant civil rights concerns and potentially serious, negative
consequences for their physical and mental health.
- In
states that now allow access, there has been no evidence that the legal changes have caused problematic behavior by adopted
persons or damage to birthmother's lives.
- Another
assertion by critics of changing these laws - that abortion rates will rise and adoption rates will fall - is not supported
by the evidence; in fact, it appears just the opposite occurs.
Based on its research
and an analysis of its findings, the Institute's recommendations include:
- Every
state should amend its laws to restore unrestricted access for adult adopted persons to their original birth certificates
- which, historically, had been their right nationwide.
- Within
three years of enactment, revisit state laws that create a "sandwich" situation in which some adult adopted persons get access
to their documents while others do not.
- Conduct
research to expand the understanding of the experiences of adopted persons, birthparents and adoptive parents in relation
to the issue of access to records.
There is
one organization, Bastard Nation: The Adoptee Rights Organization, that gives voice – in the words of adoptees, birth
parents and adoptive parents – in protest against this pernicious system of closed records secrets and lies that persists
in America. Bastard Nation works
to restore to all adopted adults the records of their birth and has been successful in reopening closed records in Oregon, Alabama, and New
Hampshire.
To find out
more about the fight for open adoption records and why going to court, mutual consent registries, retroactivity, confidential
intermediaries, disclosure vetoes, contact vetoes, and mandatory counseling prior to unification are not only demeaning to
adopted adults but deny them their civil rights, check out the Bastard Nation website.
 VICTORY!Bastard
National Rep. Janet Allen of New Hampshire (center) poses with Senator Lou D'Allesandro (left) and Rep. Mike Whalley (right)
following passage of SB-335, which opened records unconditionally to New Hampshire's adult adoptees.
Bastard Nation rejoices this week over
the implementation of the new open records law in New Hampshire. Bastard Nation Executive Chair, Marley Greiner, will be present
in Concord on Monday, January 3rd, for the opening day celebrations as adult adoptees born and adopted in New Hampshire regain
unconditional access to their original birth certificates. Congratulations to all of the activists who helped make this happen
and tremendous thanks and gratitude to bill sponsor and adoptive father, Senator Lou D'Allesandro.
For more information, see Bastard Nation's New Hampshire information page, which includes a new statement on this important victory.
OREGON'S MEASURE 58 ON FILM!!
Measurable Rights: The Fight for Open Records in Oregon is a film that tells how Helen Hill and Bastard Nation used Oregon's Ballot Measure 58 to open sealed birth certificates
for all of Oregon's adult adoptees. Hill's Initiative turned into a civil rights battle that caused a sea of change in adoption
laws across the country. Filmmaker Paul Fournier captures the very essence of grassroots activism as he follows Helen and
Bastard Nation from the initiative's inception to it's ultimate victory in the courts. Bastards are viewed in intimate settings
as they plan, learn, achieve voter support, and then fight court battles to set case precedent. "Measurable Rights "is inspiring
and an essential teaching tool for all adoptee rights activists!
Watch the trailer, interact with the reformers, and order your DVD copy TODAY!
http://www.measurablerights.com
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OUR MISSION
FOR ADOPTEE RIGHTS
Bastard Nation
advocates for the civil and human rights of adult citizens who were adopted as children. Millions of North Americans are prohibited
by law from accessing personal records that pertain to their historical, genetic and legal identities. Such records are held
by their governments in secret and without accountability, due solely to the fact that they were adopted.
Bastard Nation
campaigns for the restoration of their right to access their records. The right to know one's identity is primarily a political
issue directly affected by the practice of sealed records adoptions. Please join us in our efforts to end a hidden legacy
of shame, fear and venality.
THE UNITED STATES ACCORDING TO BASTARD NATION
The BASTARDIZED states of Alaska, Oregon, Kansas, Alabama, New Hampshire and Maine are the only U.S. states
where adult adoptees have unrestricted access to their own original birth records! Join the fight to stamp the seal of supreme
Bastardy on the rest of the nation!!
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JOIN US!
NATIONAL DAY OF ADOPTEE RIGHTS PROTEST
JULY 22-26, 2008 - NEW ORLEANS!
Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization is happy to announce its co-sponsorship of the
July 22, 2008 National Day of Adoptee Rights Protest in New Orleans. [link] The protest is being held during the National Conference of State Legislature’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, July
22-26-23, 2008. [link] NCSL is the largest group of its kind, the national organization of STATE LAWMAKERS, the people who DECIDE whether you may
access your records Nearly 10,000 legislators are expected to attend. LET BASTARDS BE HEARD!
You can make a difference!
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Bastard Nation | P.O. Box 1469 | Edmond, OK 73083-1469 |
Phone / Fax: 415-704-3166
The spermburst logo, by
Gavriela Person, (sm) Bastard Nation.
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