Tag Archives: Maine; adoptee rights; birth certificates; HB 1084

MAINE UPDATE: A COLLECTION OF RECENT NEWS STORIES ON THE RESTORATION OF ADOPTEE RIGHTS IN MAINE

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Here is a collection of recent news articles in chronological order on the restoration of adoptee rights on Maine. I’m not making many comments on them, just putting them up here as a source of information. I’ll add more if they show up later. Once again! Congratulations Maine! Kennebec Journal, December 28, 2008Adoptees await more informationAbout three-quarters of the House supported the bill, and two-thirds of the Senate, according to Bobbi Beavers of South Berwick. A co-founder of Original Birth Certificates for Maine, Beavers called the legislation “a human rights bill.” “No one should ever be denied their original identity,” said Beavers. Cathy Robishaw of Falmouth, another group co-founder and an adoptee herself, said a friend helped her find her birth mother’s name in the mid-1990s. But getting her original birth certificate Friday will be a “huge deal,” and not just because she pushed for the law for four years. “I will just feel like everyone else at that point,” she explained. “It will just mean I’m not discriminated against, I’m treated like an adult.” Belfast Village Soup, December 29, 2008Adoptees may obtain their original birth certificatesThe first two adoptees receiving their original birth certificates will be Catherine Robishaw, co-founder Continue Reading →

MAINE: RECORDS OPENED, GRINCH CRINGES!

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For Bastardette’s special New Year message scroll below this entry. ****** It’s 12:01 AM and obcs are officially open in Maine! Happy New Year! It’s been a long wait from June 25, 2007 when LD 1084 was signed into law to today when the restoration of our rights in Maine went into effect officially. Bastard Nation salutes Mainers and sends many happy returns of the day. Of course, no celebration is complete without a Grinch, even if it’s not Christmas. The Grinch in Maine comes in the lumbering form of the Portland Press Herald editorial board. On the prowl for something to spoilsport at the end of the holiday season, the paper pounced on the dead issue of records and identity rights for the state’s adopted class. Adoption records should be accessed with caution/People seeking information about themselves should also respect the privacy of others. The editorial warns of the dire consequences snoopy adopted folks pose to the stability of Maine’s apparent fragile family infrastructure which will collapse without the studied discretion and good manners of the newly-loosed adopted class on closet-cringing parents. Boo! Here’s what the paper says about the imminent danger: Birth parents, who were promised anonymity when Continue Reading →

BASTARD NATION PRESS RELEASE: MAINE RESTORES RIGHT OF BIRTH CERTIFICATE ACCESS!

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BASTARD NATION PRESS RELEASE PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY! ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! MAINE RESTORES THE RIGHT OF BIRTH CERTIFICATE ACCESS! LD 1084 PASSES OVERWHELMINGLY—GOVERNOR SIGNS Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization congratulates Maine on becoming the fourth state since 1998 to restore the right of original birth certificate access to adult adoptees. Following in the footsteps of Oregon, Alabama, and New Hampshire (Kansas and Alaska never sealed records) Maine’s activist organization OBC for ME has shown that through focus, perseverance, and a refusal to compromise the rights of all for the privilege of a few, that a clean unconditional access bill can be passed. Overwhelmingly passed, Despite naysayers, on June 18, near the close of the legislative session, the Maine House overrode and over ran the LD 1084’s “Do Not Pass” recommendation from the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary, 104-39. The next day, the Senate followed, passing, the bill 20-15. On June 20, the bill returned to both houses and passed “by the hammer” with no amendments. Bim! Bam! Boom! Bastard Nation was highly critical of the 2006 records access campaign which began with a clean bill and finished threatened with compromises that made it unrecognizable. This time, OBC for Continue Reading →