A Sad Day in Pennsylvania: Justice once more denied

HB 162, the clean OBC access bill already passed by the Pennsylvania House, has gone done to defeat under Disclosure Veto. Sen. Mensch offered an incredibly ugly amendment which passed that “opens a window” of three years for a birth parent to file a disclosure veto. If it is filed, the OBC remains sealed. If one is not filed for three years, then the OBC is available. Continue Reading →

Bastard Nation Action Alert: Vote Do Pass on HB 162!

HB 162 is being heard Tuesday September 16 in the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth. This is a clean bill that will restore the right of access without restriction to all Pennsylvania-born adoptees to their original birth certificates. The bill has already passed the House and is now being challenged by Catholic Charities, the ACLU and anti-abortion groups in the Senate. It is imperative that Pennsylvania legislators know that OBC access is a civil right that must be restored to all adopted adults. Continue Reading →

Pennsylvania HB 162: My personal testimony in support with addenda

This is the testimony in support of PA HB 162 I submitted for the March 18, hearing before the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth. I am re-submitting it for the hearing scheduled for September 16, 2014 with an addenda regarding arguments about abortion brought forward by Catholic Charities. Continue Reading →

Massachusetts: Deb Goldberg’s bizarre political ad. “When you adopt you learn deep down that everything in life depends on opportunity.”

I understand that Goldberg is pandering to the adoptive client crowd and its fan base, but why bother? I mean, who cares? And it’s particularly insulting since Massachusetts, no matter what you hear from its homegrown adoption deformers, is not a free state. OBCs between July 17 1974-January 1, 2008 are still held hostage by the state. If adoption is going to be a pandered dear-to-the-heart object in Goldberg’s campaign, then why not say as Treasurer she’ll support and work hard to loose those records from the greedy hands of the state. State Treasurers do have political pull after all. Continue Reading →

CHIFF: Voices for Vietnam Adoption Integrity Opposes CHIFF. Read the statement!

Today, Christina from VVVAI published an amazing statement from the group: Why We Oppose CHIFF: A Misguided Bill With Misaligned Priorities. The statement lays out everything that is wrong with this horrendous adoption industry-driven attempt to circumvent the Hague and other international adoption safeguards and send separate thousands of children from their families, homes, and culture. It is most appropriate that this statement comes from those that CHIFFters claim to serve: international adoptive parents and potential international adopters. Continue Reading →

“Sip & See” Celebration: Gladney’s Legacy of Love for “birthmothers”

I like the idea of a birthmother tea. I imagine proper women in white gloves and pill box hats perched at well-appointed card tables sipping Lady Earl Gray from finely painted china cups, delicately munching scones with strawberry jam while they discuss Downton Abbey. Continue Reading →

The Smell of Mendacity: Mary Landrieu says “No CHIFF. No Citizenship” Deport the old; import the new

Landreiu. you see, has been instrumental in holding up the Immigration bill to twist the arms of international adoptees and their organizations whom she loves in to supporting CHIFF.

Kevin Haeboom Vollmers blew the lid off this last week in his Adoptees Rock blog Senator Mary Landrieus’ Big Diss Of The International Adoptee Community It has not gotten the AdoptionLand attention that it should. so I’m boosting it here. Continue Reading →

May 4th 1970: When the political becomes the personal

My boyfriend, G, was one of the Kent 25. The 25s’ names were never released, but we knew who they were.

G is listed in FBI records as a high school student. He was not. He was an Army veteran, discharged 7 months earlier after a turn in Germany. Even though thousands of miles away from Viet Nam, the Army had taught G to hate the war. Continue Reading →