As one week from today is the Adoptee Rights Demonstration in Chicago, Illinois I would like to propose a celebratory meme. Even if you can’t physically be there, you can help pepper the internet air waves with news and the reasons why you support Adoptee Rights!
Why I Support Open Access to Original Birth Certificates
I have three reasons why I believe that Adoptee Rights is very important and why I dedicate my time to doing so:
#1: Open Records Equal Truth
It is my strong belief that WHEN all adoptees in the US are given back their human right to their own birth records, they will search in much larger numbers. For one, it won’t be a nearly impossible task and some of the “forbidden” stigma that surround searches will dissipate.
When they search , now they will find their biological families much easier. When an adoptee finds their original families that relinquished them, then they will hear the truth of their relinquishment and the true circumstances following their birth. This truth, I believe, no found in larger numbers, will begin to really blow down the house of cards the adoption industry has built upon all the secrets and lies. It is at that point, when adult adoptees, birthparents AND adoptive parents, realize that the adoption industry has lied to all of them, we will see an increase of people demanding transparency and reality to the adoption industry.
And that, my friends, makes OBC access the root of all other adoption reforms.
#2: Adoption Denies My Own Son His Civil Rights
While I still kick myself for NOT applying for , and receiving, Max’s original birth certificate before his adoption was finalized in 1987, that action would not have made the government treat him equally. Even if I had it in hand, we could not apply for another copy and therefore, my own son is not treated fairly due to his adoption. Massachusetts has a horrible updated law and his birth years are sandwiched out.
Since, it was my decisions that caused him to lose his civil rights, as a mother, it’s my job to right that wrong.
#3: I Care About My Friends
How many adoptees do I truly adore? How many to I love and really care about? How many are my friends? I cannot count, but this journey though adoption land has blessed me and I have met so many truly wonderful people and they too, like my son, deserve the right to be treated equally by our laws in this country.
The Adoption Lists: Why Do YOU Support Adoptee Rights?
Go forth and write your own blog post or Facebook note or whatever. Then add your post to the list below:
I am the administrator of a new Facebook page, Adoptee Equal Rights Task Force Wisconsin. We are a group of citizen volunteers from the Triad Group, actively engaged with WI State Legislators in getting WI Stat 48.433 (OBC law) changed to an unrestricted access to the adoptee original, unaltered birth certificate.
Any comments or suggestions, are welcome.
Hey Jack.. Glad to meet you! I’m going to pass on your info to the ARC so we can start working with you on this.
A quite an informative post which will beneficial for adopted persons, birth mothers and adoptive families.
Thank you. However, I will NOT allow links here, even as comments, from an adoption industry representative to a website that profits form the separation of mothers and children. Your comment can stand, but your links are gone.