ANNOUNCEMENT: SECA–STOP ENCOURAGING CHILD ABANDONMENT
(Please distribute freely, keeping links intact.) Last Friday, December 5th, 2008, the SECA web-page finally went live. (http://www.stopdumpingkids.com/) SECA, short for “Stop Encouraging Child Abandonment,” is a concept that has been a long time coming. From the first of the legalized child abandonment laws passed in 1999 until now, efforts to repeal and stop the dump laws have suffered from a lack of an alliance dedicated to focusing primarily on the issue. Before SECA, responses to dump laws had been piecemeal, portions of existing organizations’ broader missions. Over the years numerous organizations have opposed and testified against the legalization of child abandonment, and individuals have contacted legislators and worked against legalized child dumping. But, there had been no one place dedicated to dismantling the evolving child abandonment infrastructure. Thus, SECA has finally been created. Stop Encouraging Child Abandonment works toward nothing less than the full and permanent repeal of laws that legalize child abandonment. We feel it is not the proper role of any government to encourage child abandonment as policy. We approach this work firmly grounded in a human/civil/identity rights perspective. We support kids, women, and reproductive autonomy. The need for SECA had become apparent over the past nine Continue Reading →