Getting Screwed Over in NY 2016 Version Greetings from my backyard. Today I am wearing my Constitutional Tramplers T shirt in honor of the New York State legislators who seemed compelled to ignore all their constituents, facts and logic in order to pass some perverted version of a “AdoptionLand; shut the fuck up” bill and dares to say it is Adoptee Rights. This thing, the self admitted “half a loaf”…
By Mirah Riben “In this day and age, there is no reason why there should be restrictions on an adoptee having access to their original birth certificate.” David Weprin, New York State Assemblymember representing Queens 24th Assembly District. A New York bill allowing adults who were adopted as children to obtain access to their original birth certificates, was “destroyed” by members of the NY State Assembly before it passed by…
When you tell man who wrote a bill that he doesn’t know how to write a bill, you issue a challenge. When you insult him and he obviously picked up on that, he comes back at you with the bill he wrote to prove the point. And so, due to that meeting held by UI, our formally beautiful CLEAN NY OBC Adoptee rights bill with a lovely and simple contact preference, has been amended to a version of the 2104 disaster. This is what happens when you throw down the gauntlet. So yeah, the HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD BILL has come back. A2901 is now A2901A
NY’s Child-Parent Security Act #A04319 and S02765 has been introduced to legalize compensated surrogacy in New York, and provide “protections” that ensure surrogates are entering into legal agreements and there’s no question that the intended parents of the child have full rights that they paid for.
Of course, also included in the proposed legislation are the already archaic practice of sealing the ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE.
A new year is here and with that it is time to roll out the Adoptee Rights Bills to Support in 2015. Just like the 2014 and 2013 lists, this will be a living list where things like bill numbers do get updated. However, for the most recent activity on any one state’s pending legislation and needed support, please refer to the websites and Facebook pages. If you know of additional states where legislation is pending this year, please do let me know.
26th Annual Adoption Conference Uniting Families in Albany New York
WHEN: May 8-9, 2015
WHERE: Albany Marriott Hotel 189 Wolf Road Albany New York 12205 USA
WHAT: NYSCCC 26th Annual Conference
WHO: The NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children
BONUS: I have been invited to present a birthparent perspective
WHEN: August 16 2014 at 3:00 pm
WHERE: BSP 323 Wall Street, Kingston, 12401 http://www.bspkingston.com
WHAT: Screening of “You Have His Eyes”
When I really look at my own attitudes towards racism, then I am no different than the white adoptive parents who refuse to see the racism that their children experience because they are also “not racists.” Just because a person refuses to see it, doesn’t mean it is not there and, in this case, doesn’t mean that they can’t blunder into it. In fact the refusal to even think about the impact of my own words because I was so above it meant that I did, in reality, contribute. I can’t even say it is a silence that created my complicity, but a refusal to even consider the possibility that made it possible.
This monthly group is for anyone exploring adoption or who has begun the adoption process. Musings of the Lame cannot confirm the quality of such meetings nor approve or disapprove the messages given. Please do your homework to ensure that any adoption is as ethical as possible. As this agency has a foster to adopt program, the listing is permitted.
The Fight for Adoptee Rights is about CIVIL and HUMAN rights first and foremost. The opposition wants to make it all about reunion, but it is NOT. We do not demand that adoptees are restored access to their OBC because they want to find mommy, we demand it because adoptees deserve to be treated the same as non adopted. What an adopted person then DOES with their OBC is their choice.. so reunion is secondary. When we tell long stories about insane searches & happy reunions, then we feed into the mythology that the opposition wants. Do not DO IT!!
If the average number of friends every Facebook user has is 130, then 10,000 shares means that over 1 million three hundred people can be viewing the intimate details of a birthmothers “hidden” pregnancy before she is found by the one person who is looking for her. New York State’s A909bill would allow the communications between a birthmother and her adopted child to be exactly that – a communication between the parents and the adoptee.
Ready to fight to free adoption records and restore adoptees civil rights? All the pending bills, all in one place! Send your letter, make a comment saying you did, and share the post to your own networks, The only way we will ever restore the civil rights of our friends and children is if we work on their doggedly and with purpose together.
Public Hearing on NYS Adoptee Rights January 31st
When: January 31st, 2014 at 10 a.m.
Where: 250 Broadway 19 floor, Room 1923, in Manhattan, New York
Who: Unsealed Initiative
Adoptee Rights Demonstration in New York City on Nov 22rd at Governor Cuomo’s New York City Office for Friday November 22rd, 2013. Meet at 633 Third Avenue, NY, NY 10016 at 11:30 AM
Governor Andrew Cuomo: NYS Should Fund Statewide Post Adoption Services and Petitioning The U.S. Senate: Create “Veronica’s Law” both on Change.org. Now sign and share!