Looking for Adoptees to Call for Access to their Original Birth Certificates
I love Facebook and the collaborative ideas that can come up. This is one of them. Amanda Kutner from www.foundyourmittens.blogspot.com, an adoptee I know through there, contacted me about the makings of the Birthmother video that I helped create with Origins-USA when a bunch of us were at the Donaldson/Ethica Adoption Conference. She said that she would love to have a similar version for adoptees speaking about reform, so we began to discuss how to go about doing it..and then, the idea came out that we didn’t really need to have a whole bunch of adoptees together at the same time! When most people have access to a camera or phone that takes video and they could all be uploaded and emailed.. then we could do the editing!
Inspiration for the Adoptee Video
This is the original Birthmother video that is the basic format that we shall use. If people kind of follow the same format that we can edit them all together and it becomes much more powerful because of the repetition: same stories, same requests, same demands, but different people. Of course, the more submissions we get, the better it will be!
Adoptees Empowered with Video!
The basic idea is a call for adoptee rights and access to the OBC. Tell your story about adoption, what it means to your life, why you want the laws changed, etc.
So grab a camera or phone or whatever, and get filming. It doesn’t have to be fancy or high resolution or super special.. in fact the more raw it is, the more real it will be. Keep the background simple if possible and try to get the full screen of your face.. then just talk to the camera.
Here’s a basic script with general information that would be good, but NOT essential.. so if you want less.. then that’s fine.. you want to add more.. ok, go for it! Just try to say the phrases in blocks.. like take a breath in between pause for a hot second..so there is a natural place to cut and edit!
Proposed Adoptee Video Script
Hi, my name is ______ and I live in _________.
I was adopted in ( year) when I was ___ ( age).
My family was_______________.( feel free to say good stuff or bad.. your truth, disclaimer, etc)
My life is____________________.( again.. go free willy here..how adoption affected you, how you feel about it, etc)
I want to know my original identity because______________.
My state ________ legally denies me access to my original birth certificate.
This is wrong because __________.
I want to search, I am searching, I did search, I found my (birth) family anyway…..(add more about the process and reunion if applicable.)
I want ____________.( My OBC, to be treated like everyone else, to know my truth, to be treated like an adult, the right to know who I am, etc)
There are 6 million other adopted Americans just like me.
That’s it!
Send your adoptee rights video over to me at fixadoption@gmail.com. Let’s plan on getting them in by June 1st and then we will have time to edit and push it out for the Adoptee Rights Protest in Kentucky!
If you want to preview the final copy, then just let me know when you send it to me and I’ll make sure that you get a peek at the final cut, but it’s going to be pretty close to the Birthmother video. And if you have any ideas about what is missing or other bits of information that should be in just let me know!
So 6 weeks.. one video.. let’s get going!
