Met Ana; she was told that she had the 30 day revocation timeframe under PA law because she is from PA, she lives in PA, she was told the family lived in PA, and the baby was born in PA, only to now be told that it’s a New Jersey adoption. Of course, New Jersey does not have a revocation of adoption consent period recognized by law. How convenient.
Grandma’s Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes with genome regulation and methylation, Why DO People Insist on Believing Things that Aren’t True and how to be heard- aka Online Attack For Choosing Adoption Is Not OK and Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Pregnancy in Prison plus a really kick ass comment!
Where: Rosendale Cafe 434 Main St.m in Rosendale, NY 12472 845.658.9048
When: June 13, 2014 – 8:00 pm
Why: An Evening with Mary Gauthier
Tickets: $20 at the Cafe ( get there early for a seat and get dinner! )
The National Council For Adoption will host the 2014 National Adoption Conference at the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida. I will not be attending but I DO implore that if anyone CAN, to please DO so. Our voices cannot be heard if we do not demand a seat at the table.
As I have long said that there is a strong correlation between what happens in surrogacy and what happens in adoption, so a film like Breeders is very important. It is an honest look at the risks of surrogate mothers and the commoditization of fertility and pregnancy, egg donations, and assisted reproductive technology in regard to human rights violations and women’s empowerment. Surrogacy is making all the same mistakes that have been made in adoption and have not yet learned from the past decades of education and awareness because the two have been seen as separate, but it’s really not very different.
Sometimes, I literally surprise myself when I say things. I did that while on the show. If you note, I did mention the “skeleton” in the closet in my “before” writing. Rather expected and cliché, I know, but when I took it literally, as a real set of bones, which did mean that something died in the closet; then the visual became, I think, a powerful truth. If there is a real place called the birthmother Adoption Closet, then what really died inside was the mother we were supposed to be before surrendering.
“The most commonly contested adoptions occur where mothers want to place children for adoption and fathers object” (Beck, 2007). To prevent other children from being traumatized like Veronica Brown, policies could be revised so a child is not available for adoption until parental rights have been relinquished or terminated. Also that fathers’ rights “be treated no differently than the biological mother, i.e. his parental rights can be terminated involuntarily only upon a showing of unfitness (Spitko, 2006, p. 276).
On a day meant to honor motherhood, you can’t help thinking of the one you never get to see. You can’t help missing those who are missing from your life. Mother’s Day, like birthdays and holidays of any sort, become a time to reflect and wonder where your child is and who he honors on that day. Does he think of you? Does he wonder? What is his name and are his eyes as blue?
Concerned United Birthparents ( CUB ) is offering a $10 discount on all new memberships from May 1st through Father’s Day. I am proud to be a member of CUB and strongly encourage other birthmothers ( and fathers) to invest a small amount of time and money to join up.