There’s a baby dump movement growing in New Brunswick, Canada. Bill 60 has been introduced to make it a reality. Below is the official position statement of The Adoption Council of Canada in opposition to the legislation.
Good to have you on board!
THE ADOPTION COUNCIL OF CANADA: POSITION STATEMENT ON SAFE HAVEN LEGISLATION
(May 22, 2009). The Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) strongly supports policies and practices that protect the safety and health of all children and youth, but we do not believe that safe haven legislation is an effective way to meet this goal.
Studies that track abandonment show that safe haven laws have not succeeded in eliminating unsafe, illegal abandonment. Other research suggests that the laws may encourage women to abandon infants who would otherwise have been raised by relatives or placed for adoption through established means. In addition, safe haven legislation deprives one of the biological parents (often the father) of their parenting rights and precludes the abandoned infant from ever knowing his or her genealogical or medical histories.
The ACC believes that children have a right to information about their identity (their birth mother, birth father, or other family members; their heritage; their culture; their family medical history, etc.) and that they—and their adoptive families—will benefit from having this information.
Birth mothers and birth fathers also have the right to supportive services, counselling, and information that will enable them to make the best possible decision for themselves and their children. In addition, First Nations children have the right to the resources accorded to members of federally recognized bands. We believe that a more effective, humane, moral approach to protecting children at risk of abandonment would be the funding of programs for at-risk mothers and fathers.
Policy and Practice Recommendations
Rather than move to safe haven legislation after the death of an abandoned child, Provinces and Territories should:
* Strengthen their investment in prenatal and other family support for young, single, or at-risk parents or prospective parents;
* Create and fund a community awareness campaign about the options of adoption, kinship care, and family support;
* Develop a child welfare helpline; and,
* Create and fund programs to educate teachers, parents, doctors, counsellors, and others about how to identify concealed pregnancies and support affected women.
Safe Haven Legislation Proposed in New Brunswick
Bill 60 – An Act to Amend the Family Services Act
A proposed safe haven bill has been introduced in New Brunswick by Jody Carr — Progressive Conservative member from Oromocto. To view the proposed amendment, please visit: http://www.gnb.ca/legis/bill/pdf/56/3/Bill-60.pdf.
Should you wish to express your concerns over the proposed law, we encourage you to contact the following individuals:
Jody Carr (PC)
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (506) 453-7494
Fax: (506) 453-3461
Mailing Address
Old Education Building, East Block
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
David Alward
Leader of the Official Opposition
General Information: (506) 444-2324
Reception: (506) 444-2324
Fax: (506) 453-3461
Email: [email protected]
Mailing Address
Old Education Building, East Block
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Social Development Minister Mary Schryer
HON. MARY SCHRYER (L), MLA
Quispamsis, Electoral District 30 / Legislative Assembly
Phone: (506) 457-7866
Fax: (506) 453-2164
Email Address: [email protected]
Mailing Address
Sartain MacDonald Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
HON. SHAWN GRAHAM, Premier
Contact Information
Phone: (506) 453-2144
Fax: (506) 453-7407
Email Address: [email protected]
Mailing Address
Centennial Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Thanks for posting this, and also to those who wrote expressing their concerns.
I got one acknowledgment, from the office of Mary Schryer.