So here it is: a clear, concise explanation and timeline of Texas access law in the newly-published report, Texas: Setting the Records Straight, released by the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition in March 2019.
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Word-shuffling and time-wasting legislative debate on minutiae does not serve adoptee rights and adoption reform. What does serve both is the restoration of the right of all adoptees upon request and without restriction, to their own state-held birth records—the keystone of adoption reform in the US today
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There is no state interest in keeping original birth certificates sealed from adult adoptees to which they pertain. Nor does the state have a right or duty to mediate and oversee the personal relationships of adults. Those who claim a statutory right to parental anonymity through sealed records to them promote statutory privilege and state favoritism. 30,000 Connecticut adoptees were left behind in 2015. The passage of SB972 brings them back.
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ep Thompson’s office has not yet received the request so we ask that you wait to call to request a hearing date until that request is received.
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The core problem though is that H597 posits birth record access as an individual personal desire or cute curiosity rather than a civil right and political issue. H597 conflates “reunion” with rights. Through the FARR mandate, and even a reunion requirement outside of FARR, it holds Florida adoptees and their families hostage to archaic laws and customs. The bill treats adult adoptees like children, promotes continued shame in adoption, and maintains the iron lock of the state on our birth records and personal autonomy. None of this is related to adoptee civil rights and is an insult to every Florida adoptee. It is about Big Government.
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The bill creates a paternalistic forced reunion system in order for an adoptee to access her or his own Original Birth Certificate–or rather in this case, a summary of it. It contends birth record access is about an individual personal desire or curiosity rather than a civil right and political issue by conflating “reunion” with rights. It keeps Florida adoptees and their families hostage to archaic laws and customs, promotes continued shame in adoption, and maintains the iron lock of the state on our birth records and personal autonomy.
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Please follow the instructions for testimony-submission below. Out-of-state testimony is welcome and you are not required to attend the hearing.
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Annette is a New York powerhouse and we are thrilled to have her on board
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Last week Texas Representative Gina Calanni introduced HB2725, a bill to restore the right of OBC access to all Texas adoptees with no restrictions or conditions. Bastard Nation, as an indidvidual organization, and as a founding member of the Texas Coalition for Adoptee Rights supports this bill whole-heartedly.
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Bastard Nation is a proud partner organization in the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, along with the Adoptee Rights Law Center and the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York. Plus strategic partner Reclaim the Records
Bastard Nation is a proud partner in the Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition, along with Equality for Adoption, Gladney Adoptees for Rights and Equality, and the Adoptee Rights Law Center. Plus strategic partner Reclaim the Records