Rhode Island: Bastard Nation Testimony – in Support – H5453
TESTIMONY SB 5453 an act to permit adoptees to obtain a non-certified copy of their original birth certificates Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee April 12, 2011 SUPPORT Privilege is the opposite of rights Bastard Nation: the Adoptee Rights Organization is the largest adoptee civil rights organization in the United States. We support full, unrestricted access for all adopted persons, upon request, of their own true, unaltered original birth certificates (OBC). We fully support HB 5453 and its companion S0361. We support no other bill in either chamber. ****** Bastard Nation is delighted to endorse and support SB 5453, a bill that restores the right of all Rhode Island adopted persons, without restrictions or conditions, to access their original birth certificates upon request. SB 5453 is inclusive. The bill, as written, is a simple-to-understand measure that recognizes the presumed right of all Rhode Island adults–adopted and not adopted– to unrestricted access and ownership of their true birth certificates. SB 5453 is about rights not reunion. It is about the relation of adoptees to the state. Search and reunion are personal matters outside of government control and mediation. SB 5453 maintains the current level of adoption “confidentiality” and practice. Adoption records are Continue Reading →