Bastard Nation Letter to Louisiana Senate Judiciary: Kill HB 1028

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I have read the bill and its amendments several times, and frankly don’t see how this restores the right to anything for anyone. Registries, redactions, birthparent consents! They all continue to infantaize, degrade, and insult adopted adults who simply want a state-generated and held- document that records their birth information. A document that any non-adopted Louisianan can get for the asking and a small fee.

HB 1028, in fact, will make it more difficult for the state’s adoptees to obtain their OBCs and information about their pre-adoptive lives than it already is. As states throughout the country move to restore OBC access, Louisiana should not be making attempts, no matter how well intentioned, to make access more difficult. Continue Reading →

UPDATE. Bastard Nation Action Alert: Stop Louisiana HB 1028 from being heard in the Senate

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It is basically a registry that now has automatic redactions, further restrictions on access and is based on the premise that one can get their OBC only if their parent has contacted the registry, joined it (hoops and hoops) and given their consent for release. If only one parent contacts and gives consent, then the other parent is automatically redacted. A parent can deny access completely and can redact. I could go on but it is just awful. Continue Reading →

From Strong-Arms to Soft Shoulders: Strategies in baby grabbing

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Today, the strong arm has been replaced by the soft shoulder: the duping of vulnerable women (and sometimes men) , out of their children through industry constructed “rationalization,” “empathy,” and “caring” techniques framed as self-empowerment, selflessness, and a weird kind of motherly generosity.” That is, giving your kid up for adoption is kinda feelgood. The old white feminist line about helping other women become mothers. Sisterhood is powerful!

smiley-faces-Usually the agents of family discord and divide spewing this incredible line do their dirty work behind closed doors while showing their smiley faces to the public and their pap clients who want to believe the adoption process is as pristine as a baby’s soul. In practical terms, not even the most avaricious adoption industrialist wants to be seen as a greedy child grabber, especially in this day of perpetual adoption scandal, lawsuits, and shut downs.. Continue Reading →

CHIFF: Puts aside US international adoption obligations–Stanford Law Review

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Online published The Children in Families First Act: Overlooking International Law and the Best Interests of the Child. The author Nila Bala currently a Yale Public Interest Fellow. deconstructs CHIFF in accessible language, articulating the tension between the US adoption industry, evangelicals, and other special interest proponents and best interest of the child doctrine and international law. CHIFF comes up sadly short on both. Continue Reading →

CHIFF: Mary Landrieu insults Kerry; throws foster children under train

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What Landreiu forgot to mention in her letter is that this “crisis” was (1) created by sleazy adoption agency practices that forced the Congolese government to shut down all stages of cross border adoption at least while it investigates corruption and regroups and (2) the “crisis” is mainly a crisis for folks of privilege who have spent a lot of money on exotica and have been burned. Hubris. Continue Reading →

Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Kinship Conference #5 – some pictures and a few comments

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I fear I am not a good note taker or conference blogger, but I tried to get a couple lines in about most of the panels I attended. My own panel, Roundtable on Wayne Carp’s Jean Paton and the Struggle to Reform American Adoption was held late Saturday afternoon. Members included Marianne Novy English, U. of Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Samuel, University School of Law, and of course Wayne, all discussing Jean Paton. My presentation was “A Radical Looks at a Radical.” It’s in pretty rough form, but if I ever get around to fixing it up I’ll post it here. Continue Reading →

Petards Anyone? CHIFF Mouthpieces Hoist Themselves on Twitter

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It all started on March 21 when Ms. Osborne took it upon herself to rant up an adoption academic tweeting under #STOPChiff, accusing her of criticizing the bill in order to sell her forthcoming book. (Ms. Osborne has obviously never published a scholarly book.) As usual, anyone opposing any crack-brained adoption or child welfare deform such as legalized baby dumping or global child snatching has some pecuniary interest to protect. Unlike the open-armed and -hearted multi-billion dollar/$60,000 a kid US adoption industry that pimps CHIFF in the “best interests of the child” .and would no doubt do adoptions for free if they could. Continue Reading →

Donation of Jean Paton Book Royalties to the AAC and CUB

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The University of Michigan Press, publisher of the book, is currently offering a 30% discount. Here is a message from Professor Carp regarding the discount::

I am donating 10 percent of the royalties of my book, Jean Paton and the Struggle to Reform American Adoption, to the American Adoption Congress and another 10 percent to Concerned United Birthparents. Jean was instrumental in creating both organization and consequently it made sense that I donate to them. But even more important, as you will read in my book, Jean hated for people to make money off the backs of adopted people and birthmothers, and it is that sentiment that fueled my decision. Continue Reading →

Azerbaijan Shuts Down Cross Country Adoption; CHIFF weeps

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Jay complains that since 2007 when Azerbaijan signed on to The Hague. that the flow of Azeri children into the US has dropped, accusing the State Department of having “no idea how to use the Convention for its intended purpose, which is to get orphans into adoptive families.”

Surprise!

According to the The English language AzeriNews, the State Department and Azerbaijan, are using the Hague exactly as it is supposed to be used by keeping children in their own family, culture and country whenever possible. Azeri children are only available for cross country adoption if an Azeri adoptive family cannot be found to adopt them. Continue Reading →