AMERICAN ADOPTION CONGRESS OPPOSITION LETTER TO HB 1830: "’SAFE HAVEN’ BILLS ARE MISGUIDED…"
Text of the letter of opposition to HB 1830 by the American Adoption Congress. It is published hon the ACC webpage. [pdf]**********American Adoption CongressPO Box 42730Washington, DCwww.americanadoptioncongress.org June 7, 2007 The Honorable Linda LingleGovernor, State of Hawai’iExecutive ChambersState CapitolHonolulu, Hawai’i 96813 RE: HB1830 – Safe Haven Proposed Legislation The American Adoption Congress (AAC) founded in 1978, is a national organization committed to adoption education and reform. Our membership includes adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoption professionals across the Untied States and several foreign countries. The AAC urges you to veto HB1830 for the same reasons that you vetoed HB133 in 2003. Although AAC supports the lifesaving intent of “safe haven” bills, we continue to oppose their passage. All relinquished or abandoned children are entitled to the truth about themselves, including birth, histories, family medical histories, and social, ethnic and religious histories. Medical histories in particular are essential for the health of the children and their descendants. While HB1830 requires that the person leaving the newborn provide written information on the family medical history, it is unrealistic to expect a birth mother in a crisis pregnancy to do more than hurriedly leave the baby on the doorstep of the hospital Continue Reading →